Essential Background

Any data item in the MissionInfoBank database (say, the population of Afghanistan) may have multiple "observations" from different sources and times (including data you can submit!). As this is written, there are over 50 observations of the population of Afghanistan. The data you see displayed in the main table view, or on a map or chart, is always just one of these values. To see any other observations that may exist, click any data value on the main table. To control choice of which observation you display, use the Sources tab.

Main Tabs

	Select what kinds of real-world "things" (countries, people groups, etc.) you will be viewing data about. Pressing takes you to the main table view.
	Choose what data sources and time frame you wish to see. Most beginning users will have use for this tab only if they have added data and want to set themselves as the highest priority source. The Default data selection uses a time frame from ten years before the present to 3 years ahead of the present and chooses the sources the Mission InfoBank staff believe are most comprehensive, consistent, and reliable for each column.
	Add columns to or remove them from your working data. When you start out, the data you are working with will have only a representative few columns shown; there may be dozens available. Available columns are arranged in folders of related columns by subject; click the plus sign by the folder to open the folder and select the individual columns of interest to you. If you select a large number of columns, you will need to use the scroll bar at the bottom of your screen to see all of the columns in the Table view.
	Display only certain rows of the table, based on the data they contain (showing, for example, only languages in a particular country, or countries with more than a certain population). If the form is blank, all rows will be available for display and mapping. If you set an impossible condition (countries with a population greater than 2 billion), no rows may be available until you change the filter conditions.
	View data as either a conventional table, or one row, one column, or all observations in one cell at a time. Nearly everything on the table screen is clickable. Table Cells may contain a data value, source, and date. Click data value to see all other observations of this item; click to return to the full table. Check or uncheck to add or remove source and date information as desired. Special Cells : Row label; clicking gives a view of data for this row only. : No data is available for the time period and set of sources specified in the tab. Click to see if any observations (falling outside of the selected sources and time frame) are available; click to return to the full table. : Link to an entry corresponding to this row in the website specified in the row header, based on a standard code. The destination website may not have data for all standard codes, so some links of this type may fail. Some links will query data in other Mission InfoBank data types related to the row in question, i.e., show all languages or peoples of a country. : One or more URL links to other sites are stored as observations. Clicking will bring up a cell detail screen from which these links may be used. Column Headings Show the group and column names of the columns you have selected. Icons : Column can be mapped; click to create map : Column can be charted; click to create chart : Table is sorted on this column; sorted high to low Hovering your mouse over a column heading gives a longer description of the column along with a number of choices depending on the column, such as sorting, mapping, or charting the column. If you Remove a column and want it back, visit the tab to add the column to your column selection.
	Display or export one column of your data as a map. Tools give you control of the area to be mapped, data classification, and color scheme. For a complete description of mapping tools, see Mapping Help. Mapping Tools : Zoom map out to the whole world; a good way to reset the map if you have zoomed in too far and don't know where you are in the world. : Return to previous view (undo the last change in the map view); helpful for backing up if you make a mistake. If gray, there is no previous map view available. : Quickly zoom to selected continents or regions. : Zoom in to a part of the world. Can be used in two ways: (1) click in the upper left corner of a box you want to zoom in to, hold down mouse, and draw across to the lower right corner of the box, then release mouse; or (2) click a place in the map you want to zoom in to by a fixed amount. : Use the mouse to drag the map to a new location, without zooming in or out. : Click an object on the map colored with data (country, language, etc.) to see the complete database record for that item. : Export your map as a PDF file. Note: Subscribers (registered users during the beta test) should see 300 dpi exports within one US business day of registering. Please report a problem if you do not see 300 dpi exports within this time frame. Pick a different column of data to map without going back to the table view. Hint: to find more columns available for mapping, use the tab and look for mappable colunms, marked . Change the numeric breakpoints between different colors. Choose the set of colors to be used for data on the map.
	Save all of your settings in the Database area with a name so that you can return to them later. You must be logged in to use this feature. Save/Load appears as a popup to allow the system to save your current view; you may need to enable popups for this site in your browser.
	Read this and other more detailed Database help pages.

Adding Data

Individual observations may be added at the bottom of the Cell Detail view you see when you click a data value. Larger amounts of data may be Uploaded; the Upload form can also be used to upload information for the Library. The Mission InfoBank's Database area is designed to quickly accommodate additional columns of data, and even completely new kinds of data, so feel free to submit data that is different from what you see currently. Note: you can see individual observations you have entered by visiting the Sources tab and making yourself the top-priority source. Data uploaded in bulk may take days or weeks for us to process; we will let you know when it is available. In some cases, we may be unable to add your data to the Database, but may be able to make it available in the Library if you give us permission to do so.