Major Sources
These are some of the most frequently used sources by students searching for comparative political quantitative evidence.
- WDI: World Development Indicators This link opens in a new window
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Statistical data for development indicators and time series data for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators. Covers 1960 - present.
Note: For data documentation, see the print reference book: World Development Indicators, at call number Ref HC 59.15 .W656. - UNData This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
A single gateway to the UN's 24 statistical databases and 60+ million records).
- Freedom HousePublishes Freedom in the World and Freedom of the Press, annually assessing civil liberties and media independence in 200 countries and territories.
- Polity VMeasures regime characteristics (democracy/autocracy) for all states over 500,000 from 1800 to 2018. Also find other data on conflict and peace at this link.
- CNTS Data Archive (Cross-National Time Series) This link opens in a new window
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Statistical data, including time series data, for over 200 countries. Variables include government expenditure, trade, infrastructure and media, domestic conflict event data, elections, legislative process, numerous political measures and international status indicators. Covers 1815 - current.
Important Data Guides for Political Science Students
- Comparative Political DataGould Library's directory of comparative political data sources.
- Gould Library Data GuideGeneral strategies for data searching, management, data across many disciplines.
- Princeton Conflict and Security Data GuideList of sources for data on global conflict and security. Many require you to register to download data. Variety of interfaces can be difficult to navigate, so reach out if you need help. *Some links are not available without a Princeton login.*
Search Strategies for Finding Statistics and Data
- Refer to the search strategies from the Data, Datasets, and Statistics Library Research Guide.
- This Data Reference Worksheet is designed to help you brainstorm search strategies.
- Data Reference Worksheet (PDF version)A worksheet for brainstorming places to look for data.
