U.S. Data and Statistical Sources: Introduction

Free public access to United States government documents in a federal depository library is guaranteed by law (44 USC §1911).  While UC Berkeley houses one of the most comprehensive collections of U.S. government documents in the country, the Library is one of over a thousand Federal Depository Libraries across the United States, and one of several Federal Depository Libraries in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The United States Government produces statistics and data that can be used in almost any research project.  Government statistics can provide a starting point for research or they can support a well argued point.  This guide provides a gateway to many statistical and data sources produced by or using government information.  

One of the largest hurdles of using Google is the amount you must weed through.  Some searches result in thousands of pages; who has time to go through all that?  You don't need to.  Did you know you can manipulate a regular Google search with a couple hacks to your search?  Its true!  Try these search hacks during your next google search.

• site:XXXXX  This search tells google to limit your search to a particular site or domain.  For instance, if you limit to site:berkeley.edu you would only search the Berkeley site.  Similarly site:.gov would search only sites ending in .gov, and site:.edu would search only sites ending in .edu.

• -XXXXX  Adding a minus/hyphen sign "-" to a term will remove results with that term.  This can be very helpfull when removing common words associated with your topic.

• filetype:XXXX  Using filetype: will only find certain file extentions (.doc, .pdf, .ppt, etc)

• "XXX XXXX" Putting double quotes around a phrase will find only that phrase.

You can also combine some of these search hacks, such as adding -site:nytimes.com to remove results from the New York Times website.  More search tricks can be found in the Library's Google Search Guide

Need help with research?  Have a question about the collection or the UC Berkeley Library?  Here are two ways to get in touch with me:

• Schedule an appointment with me
• Send me an email: jsilvaucb (at) berkeley (dot) edu