LibGuides: Finding Data & Statistics on the Web: How to Find Data & Statistics

What is the Difference Between Data & Statistics?

Data is the raw information from which statistics are created. Data can be observational, machine simulated, experimental or generated from existing datasets. Statistics provide an interpretation and summary of data, usually displayed in tables or charts.

How to Find Data & Statistics on the Web

1. Start by identifying your problem statement. What is the goal of your research? What questions do you have?

2. Think about who might collect the data:

A government agency? Even if your research topic does not appear related to the federal government, the U.S. government outputs a lot of useful, publicly-available data.
The open government data and government movement has spurred the launch of state and local data portal. Search Google for a city and data portal
A non-profit organization?
An academic researcher or university?

3. Search Data Archives on the web. If you have a general subject area, check the subject links under the Finding Data Tab on this guide.

4. Investigate the scholarly literature. Use library databases to find articles or reports that may contain the data or statistics on your research topic.

5. Try Google to search for statistics on the open web. Use Google Advanced Search to narrow your search by site or domain.

Quick Start: Finding Data & Statistics

DataOne
Search over 45 data repositories
Data.gov
Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government.
Google DataSet Search

ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research This link opens in a new window
ICPSR collects, preserves, and disseminates digital social science data. See the ICPSR Libguide for information on how to find, use and deposit ICPSR datasets.
Roper Center i-Poll This link opens in a new window
Provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University, Roper iPoll is the largest collection of public opinion poll data with results from 1935 to the present. Roper iPoll contains nearly 800,000 questions and over 23,000 datasets from both U.S. and international polling firms. Surveys cover any number of topics including, social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, science, the environment, and much more. When available, results charts, demographic crosstabs and full datasets are provided for immediate download.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Over 1.5 million statistics plus dossiers, studies and infographics.
Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
From Proquest.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Create maps and generate reports (i.e., tables) based on demographic data from the United States Census and related surveys (1790 to present).
Learn more about using Social Explorer.