Archives for November 2015

Fact-check with Statista

Trying to prove your point?  Do it with pictures, colors, charts, graphs, and numbers in Statista.  Visualize complex data by exploring this easy-to-use new database from the Library.  You can find Statista from our Library homepage, under Tech Databases.

alltechdatabases

Many databases accessible in the Library collection are comprised of articles, abstracts, or, in some cases, ebooks and video. In contrast, this database consists of statistical facts and figures delivered as eye-catching, straight-to-the-point graphs and charts.

Statista uses information from the U.S. Census Bureau, Pew Research Center, Gallup, Nielson, ComScore, and more than 18,000 other sources to build relevant, simple data sets and reports.  While most results center on business-related topics, students with any research subject will be blown away by the wealth of information on media, society, and politics.

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Statista also features over 1,000 industry reports and more than 3,000 market studies, including market forecasts for 42 countries and over 400 industries.  It also includes hundreds of infographics, painting visually appealing pictures out of complicated data.  Statista knows that seeing the data can be much easier—and more convincing—than simply reading the numbers on a page.

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Statista makes it easier to share that information, too.  Download charts and graphs as Powerpoint slides, Excel charts, image files, or PDFs.  Every chart displays the source of the information, as well as a citation generator* to easily cut and paste references into your bibliography.

To find statistics on a wealth of topics, use the simple search interface on the home screen or browse by topic, industry, country or digital markets.  Filter results by publication, category, or region.  Each result also recommends similar statistics to keep you supplied with more paths to finding facts.

So get your facts straight by heading straight for Statista.  You can also contact the original fact-checkers, your local librarians, at askalibrarian@atu.edu, for help with this database, any database, data, or bases.

*Always check automatic citation generators against official style guides. 

 

Atom Age Apocalypse

If living in close proximity to a nuclear power plant has made you paranoid of atomic, mutated arthropods, you won’t want to miss Mike Bogue’s presentation entitled, “Atom Age Apocalypse: Mutants, Monsters, and Mushroom Clouds.”

The presentation will be on November 12th, in Ross Pendergraft Library, Room 300 at 7:00 P.M.

Picture of Them! DVD cover

Mike, an alumnus of Arkansas Tech University, will present a tribute to the 1950’s science fiction movies that inspired the works of such film-making giants as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

Mike worked on the Russellville Campus of Arkansas Tech University from 1993 to 2011, and is currently Coordinator of Student Success on the Ozark Campus.  His work has appeared in Scary Monsters Magazine, G-FAN, Castle of Frankenstein, Wonder, Space & Time, The Lookout, and Daikaiju! 3: Giant Monsters vs. the World.  He lead a speaker’s panel at the 2014 national G-Fest (Godzilla) convention in Chicago, IL.  He also recently published a book titled Atomic Drive-In (also available at the Library).

If you want to start preparing for the lecture (or the apocalypse / giant reptile attack), the Ross Pendergraft Library has a selection of 1950’s science fiction movies waiting to grab you:

picture of The Blob's DVD cover

Or, if you want to view in bulk, the Sci-Fi Classics collection features 50 classic, science fiction movies on 12 discs.  Remember, all our DVDs have relocated to the first floor for easier browsing.

For more information about the presentation or our film collection, contact the atomic librarians from outer space at askalibrarian@atu.edu or 479-964-0569.