ECMT1010: Week 1 Workshop
1 Icebreaker
How did you end up taking ECMT1010 in semester 2, 2023? Your tutor will introduce themselves and
lead a class discussion about your transition to studying at the University of Sydney. The tutor will also
review the structure of ECMT1010, such as how to approach the workshops, the importance of Canvas,
assessment components, key dates, and the Ed discussion board. This is the ideal opportunity to ask
questions about ECMT1010 or studying at University of Sydney more generally.
2 Getting started with the ECMT1010 software
Get the ECMT1010 software ready to go.
(a) Bookmark Statkey using this link.
(b) In Excel, install either the Analysis Toolpak for Windows (here) or StatPlus LE for Mac (here).
3 Downloading data
(a) Download data from the Lock textbook.
You will use a Lock dataset many times this semester. Follow the steps to download data from
the Lock textbook.
i. Go to Statkey.
ii. Click on the Statistics: Unlocking the Power of Data link at the top.
iii. Click on the Datasets link on the left and then choose the 2nd edition of the textbook. You
will see a table listing the names of the datasets (rows) and the software formats (columns).
We focus on the Excel format (xlsx or xls in the second column).
iv. Click on an xlsx (or xls) link to download a copy of the dataset in Excel format (if you
are using Windows, the Excel file icon will appear at the bottom of your screen).
v. Click on the icon to open the file in Excel. Discuss.
(b) Download data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
The RBA is an excellent source of free economic and financial data. Follow the steps to download
data on Australian dollar (AUD) exchange rates.
i. Go to http://www.rba.gov.au/.
ii. Click on the Statistics link at the top, then on ‘Economic and Financial Statistics’ and then
on ‘Historical Data’.
iii. Scroll down to ‘Exchange Rates – Monthly – January 2010 to latest complete month of
current year’ and click on the XLS link.
iv. Open the file in Excel and look for the column headed ‘A$1=EUR’.
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v. Find the exchange rate between the AUD and the euro (EUR) on 30 June 2022 and compare
it to the exchange rate from 30 June 2021.