In this way, students also get a better sense of data-related issues, for example, missing or zero information as well as choosing between different data sources and / or proxy measures.
From a student point of view, of paramount middle east rcs data importance is that the data are freely available (at no additional cost) on a continuous basis (with little or no interruption of service). There have been times, however, when issues have arisen with respect to data availability (both temporary and even more permanent).
To allay any issues with temporary data unavailability, for example, when the data are being updated, we conduct interactive sessions on obtaining data at the start of the academic year to allow ample time to access the data long before the coursework deadline.
Occasionally, there has been more permanent data unavailability. For example, some years ago the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stopped providing disaggregated trade data through the International Trade Commodity Series (ITCS). Therefore, we had to switch to a viable alternative source ie Merchandise Trade, available from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).