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User guide

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Search by theme

The home page displays the list of themes under which the series are grouped.

Each of these themes opens up according to a tree structure with several levels, down to a final sub-theme proposing criteria to make a selection of series.

These criteria are of a categorial nature (products, sectors, categories of people, enterprises, places, etc.) or a technical nature (frequency, seasonal treatment).

By selecting one or several items for each criterion, the list of series you want to display is defined by cross referencing.

Direct search

You can also search for series directly using their numerical identifier noted in a previous selection.

The home page offers access to two fields for entering the identifiers of the series being searched for:

  • Direct search for a single series: entry field directly accessible under "Search / by identifier";
  • Direct search for several series simultaneously: open up the entry field by clicking on "Multiple search".

The list of selected series is displayed in a table, indicating for each of them:

  • Its name in full;
  • Its identifier;
  • Its start date;
  • Its end date;
  • Its frequency;
  • Its latest update.

The selected series may be:

  • Displayed in table or graph form;
  • Exported;
  • Saved for later use.

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Displaying series

You can display:

  • Either the values of one of the selected series individually, by clicking on its name in the selection list table;
  • Or the values in some or all of the selected series (maximum 20 series and no more than 5,000 values) simultaneously, by clicking on the "check" box of the series you want to consult and then validating by clicking on the "OK" button.

As some of the data published in the BDM is subject to specific publication times (7.30 am, 8.45am, 12.00 noon, 6.00pm), dissemination of certain series may be under embargo.

The data in question may correspond to new publications and/or revised data. When preparing its dissemination, the data pending lifting of the embargo is replaced by a clock: Clock 12.00 noon displaying the expected time of display.

A help balloon shows the time of publication: Clock 12.00 noon

At the precise time when the embargo is lifted, the values are displayed.


Complementary information on the values:

  • Quality indicator: the data in some series may be subject to revision. In this case, the values in question are displayed with a quality indicator attached to a help balloon explaining its meaning.

  • Corresponding series: this type of information is available only for series concerned by a change in classification and for which a correspondence has been established between the series that have been ended and the series created to replace them.

    Access to this link is only proposed when the values of just one of these series are displayed. In all other cases (series without any such correspondence or a request to display several series with correspondences) this link does not appear.

    Clicking on "Corresponding series" displays the list of the series corresponding with the series that was initially selected and the connecting coefficient(s) to extend the corresponding series.

Once the table of the values in the selected series is displayed, you can display the individual graph (if just one series) or the simultaneous graph of the series in the table (maximum five series).

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Downloading files

Two formats are available for exporting series to your workstation: Excel and CSV (comma separated values).

The volume of each export is limited to 100 series and/or 10,000 values.

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Saving your series selections

You can save the selections made during a consultation session to return to them later.

Two forms are available:

  • in a "list-folder" containing the list of the identifiers of the selected series;
  • in a "search-folder" containing the query underlying your selection.

In a later session, you can call up the files by clicking on the link "My search folders".

In the case of a List Folder, the system will present the list of series updated at the time of your new consultation.

In the case of a Search Folder, the system will run the search you have stored again, displaying the series that were present in your former session and (in the event of a change of the base) any others that might have been introduced in the meantime.

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Consulting metadata

A "Documentation on the series" section is proposed from the series selection criteria screen.

It enables you to display information on the origin and production methodology for the data disseminated in the BDM:

  • The origin of the series is broken down into:
    • Source1: the entity directly responsible for constituting the series proposed for consultation;

    • Source2 (if applicable): the entity that produced the basic data processed by Source1 to form the series.

      This information only appears if the two entities (Source1 and Source2) are different.

  • Data production methodology: all the information to explain the content and meaning of the consulted data.

When just one series is displayed, the methodological documentation is proposed in the "Information" section which also presents the characteristics of the observed indicator.


Complementary data:

During a BDM data consultation session, you have access at all times to all the services of the insee.fr website, and notably a glossary providing the definition of the most frequently-used socio-economic terms.

This glossary can be found in the Definitions and methods > Definitions section.


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