Statistics are everywhere, as you might imagine. Gathering numerical representations and using them to tell a story can be challenging. If you are dependent on the web for information, (usually the first two or three screens of results) the challenge increases. For example, here are a few attempts to tell a story about the cola preferences of Canadians.
Exhibit One
Why Coke is winning the cola wars, In this article, CNNBusinss discusses a statistic originating from Beverage Digest. It states that, "In the last decade, Coke's market share has risen from 17.3% to 17.8%, while Pepsi's has dropped from 10.3% to 8.4%."
Drawbacks: "In the last decade" refers to a lengthy, imprecise time frame that is out of date.
Even though the original search asked for information pertaining to the Canadian market, this article appears to refer to a (non-specified) American market.
Bonus Material: While the library does not have access to Beverage Digest magazine, we do have access to Beverage Industry magazine, among others.
Exhibit Two
Soft Drinks in Canada report, by Euromonitor International. This web page provides an executive summary of the report.
Drawbacks: No market share data is given in the executive summary.
The report itself is available for purchase at a cost of US $2,450.
Bonus Material: The library subscribes to Euromonitor's Passport database. This report, along with many others, is available without charge.
Here are a few (other) places to look out for statistics.
Statista.com consolidates statistical data on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources of information.
Statistics Canada: Data provides fast and easy access to a large range of the latest consumer statistics available in Canada.
Tip:
â–ºTake advantage of the Advanced Search features in the library's databases to obtain articles that display numerical data. In many cases, articles use a graphical element to represent statistics. Select the chart, graph, diagram, photograph, map, or illustration option to obtain articles with these element(s)
