Looking for numbers
- Class ExercisesWhen prompted, open this link, then create your own copy to edit (Sign in with blue button, then File > Create a copy).
- Data Reference Worksheet (PDF version)A worksheet for brainstorming places to look for data.
- Data Reference Worksheet (Google Doc Version)Save a copy of this to your Google Drive to keep notes on your data search process.
Brainstorming Sources
What are some organizations that might collect and/or publish data on your topic? Think in terms of the following categories:
- Government agencies
- Intergovernmental organizations
- Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
- Think tanks
- Academic research organizations
- Philanthropic foundations
- Business forums
- Faith-based associations
- Labor unions
- Community groups
Census Data
- Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
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Get quick and easy access to current and historical U.S. census data and demographic information. Covers 1790 - 2010.
NOTE: You will need to register with your Carleton email address to begin fully using this database. - data.census.gov This link opens in a new window
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Statistical population, housing, economic, and geographic data from the United States Census. - Data Planet This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and abstracts)
Creates interactive statistical tables, charts and maps from over 4.3 billion licensed and public domain datasets on many areas of research, from traffic to international trade.
Use Tools to Help You Find Statistics
- Compendia and data search tools
- Dig through the data sections of web sites (instead of searching)
- Specialized collections of data and statistics
- Follow the trail of citations in newspapers, magazines, and journal literature
Data Guides by Topic
Search for Numbers by Keyword
More data resources at Gould Library.
- ProQuest Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window
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An index to statistics contained in publications from federal and state agencies, intragovernmental, research organizations and commercial publishers. A great way to discover buried numbers and sources for more statistics. - Data Planet This link opens in a new window
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A database of statistical data from hundreds of sources with a visual, interactive interface. Search for and create the tables you need then download. - Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
A comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Covers 1878 - present. - Statista This link opens in a new window
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A statistics portal integrating over 60,000 topics of data and facts from over 10,000 sources onto a single platform, categorized into over 20 market sectors. Stronger on market statistics than the others listed here.
- Data.govThe U.S. government's open data portal. Limit by file type to locate quantitative data resources.
- Google Dataset SearchA new tool from Google for finding datasets.
Statistical Compendia: United States
Statistical compendia allow you to search or browse data compiled from multiple standard and reliable sources. Statistical tables are grouped into meaningful topics for easy exploration. Compendia are useful not only to find statistics contained in them but also to discover producers of data. Once you know who produced the data, you can go directly to the source and find more data options.
- Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
A comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Covers 1878 - present. - ProQuest Statistical Abstracts of the World This link opens in a new window
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Like the Statistical Abstract, but for 56 countries around the world. - Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
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This is the standard source for historical statistics of the U.S.
- Kaiser Family Foundation State Health FactsA collection of health-related statistics for all the states from a wide range of sources.
- NCES Digest of Education Statistics This link opens in a new window
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CC Gov Docs Ready Reference (4th floor) ED 1.140 2003
A great example of an agency's compendium. The NCES produces a large amount of data. This annual publication pulls them all together.
- Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics - BJS
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Another example of a topical compendium, this standard reference tool in the field of crime research pulls together data from multiple sources. See also the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and the Bureau of Justice Statistics
Statistical Compendia: International
- WDI: World Development Indicators This link opens in a new window
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Follow the blue "Databank" button. To make your life easier, use the print version to learn what is available and which tables you need, then use the online version to download. CC Reference HC59.15 .W656 2010 - OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
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Contains all the publications and datasets released by OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and International Transport Forum (ITF) since 1998. - Europa World Plus This link opens in a new window
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Provides current statistical tables, political and economic information for more than 250 countries and territories.
Public Opinion
- iPoll Databank This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
U.S. public opinion poll data, organized at the question level from the Roper Center, 1942 - current.
NOTE: You will need to register with your Carleton email address to begin fully using this database.
- More Public Opinion Data SourcesA selected list of opinion statistics and data available to Carleton students.
Research Data Repositories
Data produced as part of research is often published for re-use in specialized research data repositories. Data in repositories is usually intended for reuse and re-analysis.
- re3data.org
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A global registry of research data repositories that one can browse or search and filter.
- ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window
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(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.
- Harvard Dataverse
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An open repository hosted at Harvard in which authors can deposit their replication datasets. Includes datasets from important journals and research projects, such as American Journal of Political Science and survey organizations like Gallup. - National Centers for Environmental InformationU.S. repository of atmospheric, coastal, oceanic, and geophysical data.
- National Snow and Ice Data Center
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