But How Do I Find What I Need?
Brookens Library provides access to a number of resources that contain data and statistics to aid researchers and students. A vast amount of statistical data is produced by government agencies and freely available. These resources are not highlighted in this post which is focused on those resources to which the library subscribes. Many of these resources draw upon government information, but provide additional support by summarizing the data, providing additional indexing, or enhanced search functionality.
The library has six major statistical resources. We’ve highlighted them below with information that will help you determine which source will best meet your needs. If you need statistics or data, check out these resources, and for assistance with your research, set-up an appointment with a librarian.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Statistical Abstract of the United States provides a comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States, providing a snapshot of America and its people. These summaries also serve to lead users to other sources for more complete data related to their topic. This database has been updated annually by the federal government since 1878. The Statistical Abstract of the United States is one of the best-known statistical reference publications and serves as both an answer book and a guide to statistical sources. This database Includes 1400+ individually indexed tables (with attached spreadsheets) that are searchable and browsable.
Historical Statistics of the United States
Historical Statistics of the United States includes statistics about the United States from the colonial times up to the start of the 21st century. It provides U.S. population, economic, employment, governance and international relations data. You can even create and save custom tables. It has long been the standard source for quantitative indicators of American history. Some of the additional topics include data on American Indians, slavery, outlying areas, poverty, nonprofit organizations, and the Confederate States of America.
This database is designed to find and retrieve statistical content. It provides access to tables and citations to statistics produced by the U.S. federal, state and local governments, international governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations. It spans millions of full-text reports and more than 1 million published tables on thousands of different topics. It also offers broad perspectives and insight on long-term national trends and implications paired with the ability to narrow results. Whether you are looking for tables, statistical reports, publication abstracts, or datasets, results are ranked by relevance. Faceted search results can then be filtered by document type, source, date published, geographic area, and more.
The Economist Intelligence Unit is an excellent source for international statistical data especially related to economics, politics, and governmental information. It provides full-text access to quantitative and qualitative data and forecasts political, economic, and business climates for various regions and up to 200 countries, as well as related news, analysis, and risk factor assessments. This database, produced by the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, was created in 1946 with the purposes of helping businesses, financial firms, and governments to understand how the world is changing and how that creates opportunities to be seized and risks to be managed.
SAGE Business Stats offers historic, current, and projected demographic and industry data points down to the zip-code level. Users can compare data within one variable or across variables using tables and line graphs; access interactive maps with timelines at the state, county, zip-code, city, and metropolitan statistical area levels; and export charts, graphs, and tables as well as the data itself.
ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
UIS is an institutional member of the ICPSR which serves as the largest archive and repository of digital social science data. An integral part of the infrastructure of social science research, ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction (over 8,000 discrete studies/surveys with more than 65,000 datasets). ICPSR supports students, instructors, researchers, and policy makers who: conduct secondary research to support primary research findings or generate new findings; preserve and disseminate primary research data; study or teach statistical methods in quantitative analysis; and develop funding proposals for grants or contracts that require a data management plan. ICPSR also encourages deposits of digital data. Deposits are made using a secure data deposit workspace to describe the data collection and upload content. More information on the depositing of digital data can be found at https://deposit.icpsr.umich.edu/deposit/home. ICPSR accepts replication datasets for researchers who need to publish their raw data in relation to a journal article, so that other researchers can replicate the findings. Because ICPSR does not approve or alter datasets in any way, studies archived as replication datasets tend to appear on their website more quickly.
