Library Guides: Cal-in-Sac Projects Resources: Statistical Sources

Introduction

Defining your topic

Please get in touch with the IGS Library if you need assistance defining your topic, identifying sources, working with any of these sources on this section of the gudie.

A few definitions to be aware of:

"The terms data, datasets, and statistics are often used interchangeably but they do have distinct meanings. Simply put, data refers to the raw numbers, text, etc. that are the inputs for statistical analysis; statistics are the results of the analysis, which have been aggregated or summarized in some way." (Bauder. (2014). The reference guide to data sources. American Library Association. p.9)

Also, see ICPSR's explanation on Understanding data vs. summary statistics or watch their video Data vs. Statistics: What's the Difference?

Before you use any of the sources, please take a moment to review the questions below and answer them based on your research topic.

Concept Mapping
Question or topic?	What is your paper topic or question of study?
Hypothesis?	What are you testing, trying to solve, prove, etc.?
Geography?	Cities, counties, regions, national, school districts, etc.
Dates or frequency?	Current (2020), historical (1900 vs. 2010), over time, point in time, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.
Unit of analysis?	Who or what are you studying? Individuals, households, families, children, schools in a school district, unemployment rates, word frequency, etc.
Variables/data points?	What items will help you answer your question? Any specific characteristics, e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, immigrant status? Independent and dependent variables?
Who collects and publishes?	Government agency, a nonprofit organization, a think-tank, a professional organization, faculty and researchers, industry?

Checklist for getting started with finding statistics and data

Use the information you put together in the Concept mapping table above to help navigate the sources for statistics.

Well-crafted open web search
Consult a statistical abstract or database
Literature Review
Contact a Librarian or talk with your professor.

Open Web Search

Use Google or other search engine to find statistics and datasets.

Try the sample search in the Google search box below.

You can also use the following search syntax to search specific domains, like any websites with a URL that ends in .gov:

homeless statistics site:.gov
homeless statistics site:.org

TIP: Look at the Images results to help identify graphs, charts, tables.

Statistical Abstracts

Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States, 1878 to present.
The United States Statistical Abstract (aka Stat Ab) is useful both as a convenient source for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information, in print and on the Web (when available). Sources include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations. Prior to 2012, the Stat Ab was provided free of charge. In 2012, Congress cancelled funding and ProQuest has continued producing the Stat Ab.

Book of the States
Published since 1935, the BoS is an authoritative, credible source of statistics and information for the 50 states, 6 commonwealths and territories of the United States. Chapters are broken down by on executive, legislative, judicial, finance, voting and elections and provide both narrative information and statistical tables.

California Statistical Abstract This link opens in a new window
Compilation of data on social, economic, and physical aspects of the State. The contributor for each table is given at the bottom of the table and may be contacted for more details or an explanation of the data.
Statistical Abstracts of the World This link opens in a new window
A collection of the statistical abstracts from many countries. (ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the World)
These statistical abstracts are generally issued by the national statistical offices of foreign governments and contain country-level data not easily found elsewhere. Global and regional statistical compendia issued by international organizations are included.

Statistics Sources
A topically organized directory to thousands of sources of quantitative information for U.S. and international statistics and data.

Statistical Databases

Statista This link opens in a new window
A statistics portal that integrates data from reliable sources on thousands of topics
Categorized into market sectors, Statista provides access to quantitative facts on media, business, politics, and other areas. Sources of information include market research reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government sources. Data may be downloaded into spreadsheets and presentations. Also includes industry reports.
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
An easy-to-use mapping program that includes over 15,000 US demographic and socioeconomic data indicators from the neighborhood census block to national levels. Data may be downloaded to csv.
PolicyMap is an easy-to-use mapping program that includes over 15,000 US demographic and socioeconomic data indicators from the neighborhood census block to national levels. Data about demographics, neighborhood conditions, real estate markets, income, jobs and economy, education, crime, and health can be presented as maps, tables, charts and reports.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Data and interactive thematic maps from the U.S. Census from 1790-present.
Provides access to current and historical United States census data, including all historic decennial censuses and American Community Surveys, as well as other demographic information, such as religious organizations. Census data is current to 2010 and historical back to 1790. In addition to being a data resource, the web interface lets users create maps and reports to better illustrate, analyze and understand demography and social change.
Sage Data This link opens in a new window
Provides easy access to a wide variety of economic, social, political, and marketing indicators. (DataPlanet - Data-Planet - Statistical Datasets)
Offers easy access to over 5,550 data sets from over 65 source providers and 16 subject categories, including banking, criminal justice, education,energy, food and agriculture, government, health, housing and construction,industry and commerce, labor and employment, natural resources and environment, income, cost of living, stocks, transportation, and more. Sources of data include federal, local, state and international governments and organizations. Allows for customization of the data by selecting subjects, and the ability to view your data in side-by-side tables, charts and maps.

Our World in Data
This is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a registered charity in England and Wales, and was founded by Max Roser, a social historian and development economist. The research team is based at the University of Oxford, who work with a variety of academic, scientific and media partners. Our World in Data uses interactive charts and maps to illustrate research findings, often taking a long-term view to show how global living conditions have changed over time.

California Statistical Sources

California Statistical Abstract
Compilation of data on social, economic, and physical aspects of the State. The contributor for each table is given at the bottom of the table and may be contacted for more details or an explanation of the data.
California Statistics LibGuide
See this LibGuide for quick access to additional California statistical resources.
Data.gov's California Data
Datasets in the U.S. data.gov that are tagged California. Can also be accessed through the California State Geoportal.
The Statewide Database is the Redistricting Database for the State of California. On this site, you will find voting, registration and geographic datasets for the State of California for statewide elections beginning in 1992.

California Research Bureau State Assembly and Senate District Profiles
A tool designed for CA legislative staff, provides several key statistics on demographic, socioeconomic, education, environmental, finance, housing, and health by district. Can compare up to 6 districts.

Literature Review

Published scholarly and popular sources will help you identify statistics, often in the form of tables or graphs, as well as the source of the numbers.

Here are a few databases you can start with:

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
A multi-disciplinary database of scholarly and general interest journals, books, and reports. [1865 - present]
Articles from broad array of peer-reviewed journals, popular and trade magazines and news sources for nearly all areas of study; available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Portuguese.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text for more than 7000 scholarly journals and other sources, including nearly 1100 peer-reviewed business publications. Offers information in nearly every area of business including management, economics, finance, and accounting. [1965 - present]
Indexing, abstracts, and (in many cases) the full text of articles for the most important scholarly business journals as well as popular and trade magazines and newsletters.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window
Index and full text of graduate dissertations and theses from North American and European schools and universities, including the University of California. (Dissertations & Theses - Proquest Digital Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) - Dissertation Abstracts - ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global) [1861 - present]
Indexes graduate dissertations from over 1,000 North American, and selected European, graduate schools and universities. Dissertations published since 1980, and master's theses since 1988, include brief abstracts written by the authors. Offers full text of most of the dissertations added since 1997 . It is possible to search a subset of dissertations produced by UC students by going to Dissertations and Theses @ University of California (available in full text).
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes journals, books, dissertations, and reviews in the social sciences on sociological topics as well as selected anthropology, criminology, demography, law, social psychology, and urban development. [1952 - present]
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Indexes leading journals in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences. Allows cited reference searching. (ISI Web of Knowledge) [1900 - present]
Includes the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-present), Science Citation Index Expanded (1900-present), Social Sciences Citation Index (1900-present), Conference Proceedings Citation Index (1990-present), Book Citation Index (2005-present), and Emerging Sources Citation Index (2005-present).

Data - there are restrictions and requirements to access and use data from these sources. Talk with your Professor first!

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) This link opens in a new window
ICPSR receives, processes, and distributes data on social phenomena in countries across the world. ICPSR maintains a data archive of on topics in the social and behavioral sciences, including specialized collections in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields. Includes survey data, census records, election returns, economic data, and legislative records.
Direct download access to data sets requires the creation of a personal account. In addition, analysis of ICPSR data sets requires the use of specialized software. For more information on this process, please consult the ICPSR Get Help page or schedule an appointment with the Library Data Lab.

openICPSR
openICPSR is a self-publishing repository for social, behavioral, and health sciences research data. openICPSR is particularly well-suited for the deposit of replication data sets for researchers who need to publish their raw data associated with a journal article so that other researchers can replicate their findings.
Harvard Dataverse
A Dataverse is an open source web application to share, preserve, cite, explore and analyze research data. Harvard's is the first and sort of like "dataverse central," with thousands of data sets across all academic fields but primarily in the social sciences.
Qualitative Data Repository (QDR)
QDR is a dedicated archive for storing and sharing digital data (and accompanying documentation) generated or collected through qualitative and multi-method research in the social sciences and related disciplines.
You can browse data however, only users who have registered (i.e., have agreed to QDR’s General Terms and Conditions of Use) and logged in can view, explore on-line, and/or download data projects, individual data files, or attendant documentation (e.g., interview protocols or human subjects consent forms) published on QDR.

Specialized Statistics: Public Opinion Polls

Berkeley IGS Poll formerly the Field Poll
An independent, non-partisan, media-sponsored public opinion news service. Each year the poll covers a wide range of political and social topics examining California public opinion. Many available in hardcopy at the IGS Library. Poll reports 1993-2016 archived at Internet Archive. Raw data files are available from UC Data.
PPIC Statewide Surveys (Public Policy Institute of California)
Launched in 1998 with the purpose of "providing independent, objective information on the social, economic, and political forces affecting California elections and public policy preferences."
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
Contains domestic and international survey data. The Center's Public Opinion Location Library (iPOLL) gives online access to a database including poll questions asked in US from 1936 to present.

Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Questions and results from public opinion polls and surveys taken all over the world from 1986 to the present
A compilation of public opinion polls and surveys from more than 6,500 national, state, local and special surveys in the U.S. and over 60 other countries. The surveys date from 1986 and contain information on over 3,000 social, political and economic issues.

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Cal-in-Sac Projects Resources: Statistical Sources