Noting Data Sources in the Literature
At the very first stages of your literature review, start taking notes on potential data sources. Make a habit of jotting down the data used in each study you read to make it faster when you come back later in your search for data. Also, this practice can help you see and articulate how your contribution is unique. You might want to keep these notes in a table like the following for easy reference.
| Author(s) and Year of Publication | Claim | Data | Dependent Variable/Estimation Technique | Significant Findings |
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For an editable table like the one above, open this spreadsheet, save a copy for yourself, then use it to track your literature.
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Data Reference Worksheet (PDF version)A worksheet for brainstorming places to look for data.
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Data Reference Worksheet (Google Doc Version)Make your own copy of this worksheet to fill out and keep in Google Drive.
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Example: Comparing Data SourcesFrom a published paper in economics where the author summarizes previous work in a table like this one.
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See more Data Search Strategies (Data, Datasets, & Statistics Guide)Find tips on searching at the variable level, finding replication datasets, and more.
Comparing Variables Across Datasets
In your search for data you may need to compare similar questions from several surveys. Below is a grid to help you keep track of this process.
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Compare Variables (Google Doc)Make a copy of this document so you can use it to start your own variable comparison grid.
Data Archives and Data Catalogs
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ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research(Searches through citations and the full text)
A repository of social science datasets for secondary research. Members of the Carleton community may search the catalog, read data documentation and download datasets after creating a personal "MyData" account with their Carleton email address. -
UK Data Archive(Searches through citations and the full text)
A premier data collection of datasets from the United Kingdom and beyond. Carleton does not have access to much of this data, but it is a great place to search for international data sources. Consult with a librarian about access. -
Dataverse(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and abstracts)
Search across the data collections of over 200 institutions, researchers, research centers and collections. Click the 'i' for more information and watch the format listed to determine whether the data are "raw" or not.
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Data and Program Library ServiceThis data library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a searchable catalog of data as well as a browsable archive of locally collected data.
See also
Sites with Research Articles and Data
Search these portals to search across many sites at once. Items are usually selected for inclusion based on their relevance and quality.
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Data on the NetFrom the University of California, San Diego's searchable listing of 850 Internet sites of numeric Social Science statistical data, data catalogs, data libraries, social science gateways, addresses and more.
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Economic Data Sources from the Data and Program Library ServiceAn annotated list of links to data-related web sites. Go to the main Internet Crossroads page and search all 720 annotated links.
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Economic Growth ResourcesList of growth data sets available online.
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RFE - Resources for EconomistsA great place to begin; comprehensive.
