Statistics add more value to your article. So how about
including numbers, percentages or graphs in your work for
an extra impact?
When I included the number of people indulging in home-based
businesses in the U.S in my article on home business, my
friends wondered what the source of the data was. Later,
while attending an interview for a content writer vacancy, I
heard the same question again. They were suspicious that it
was imaginary data! I had to explain the source of the
statistics. Readers are impressed to see the statistics of
another country mentioned in the article. This is not to say
that they would not like to see the statistics of their own
region too. Since then, I make sure to include at least one
point stating statistics, wherever necessary.
Recently, when I wrote an article on soy for a food business
magazine, I included around 500 words stating the data based
on soy production rate, cultivation area, forecasts on
production and so on. The editor was impressed to see so
much information embedded in the article. Once we get the
data, converting it to use in the form of tables, reports
or graphs takes only the time to retrieve and group them
according to your preference. Once you have a set of data,
group it to form a table, or research further to elaborate
each point based on the available data to come up with
a report.
Statistics resources on the Net:
The statistics you can get from the net are comprehensive.
Almost every country has one or more official websites that
showcase statistics. There are private parties too, who
collect data from various sources and put them together on
websites. Sometimes a simple search like "food" +
"statistics" can give you a number of resources. Google is
my favorite for any research and gives the best results. You
can even search by country or find statistics in some press
releases.
Here are a handful of links to find statistics for varied
topics:
A vast collection of statistical information pertaining to
health. Country specific data is available. Search by
entering keyword. There are many resources for subject,
links to related sites and statistic reports.
Claims to contain over 1 million records. Has data from
almost every country covering 10 broad topics. Their search
system is excellent with easy access to records. On
specifying country, item, area and year, it presents you
with accurate results in tabular form. Furthermore, you have
the choice of setting which record you want to see in X-axis
or Y-axis of the graph and get results of mathematical
calculations.
If you are looking out for only basic information or
statistics, World FactBook is the best resource. The site
covers statistics on all countries of the world and is up
to date.
Contains links to crime related statistical information.
Graphical diagrams can also be found apart from numerical
data. One of the pages contains links to international crime
related sites.
Has links to vast number of resources. The site is organized
into the form of a directory, and as an alternative, provides
a search option.
If you couldn't find any required information on any of the
above sites, you will be able to find links to hundreds of
statistic-related websites from across the globe here. Links
are categorized under global, regional and country. This one
link alone might be able to serve your needs.
For those new to the Net or overwhelmed by the nature of the
online job market I suggest you look at the Cyber Search Tutorial.There
are more job boards and classifieds from metro newspapers.
