InfoGuides: Organization Development & Knowledge Management: Find Data

Methods

SAGE Research Methods and Cases Online
Provides an overview of research methods (quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods) across the social and behavioral sciences. Includes SAGE book and reference material on research methods, and editorially selected material from SAGE journals. Also includes a searchable collection of case studies of real social research, commissioned and designed to help users understand abstract methodological concepts in practice. Includes Sage Research Methods Core, Cases Part I, Doing Research Online, and Data & Research Literacy.

US Statistics & Data

Frequently used sources of data and statistics for the United States.

Social Explorer
Access current and historical census and American Community Survey data plus U.S. public data on a variety of topics such as crime, health, education and more. Includes data from Canada, UK, and Eurostat. Create maps and reports to illustrate, analyze, and understand demography and social change.

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

One of the world’s oldest and largest social and behavioral science data archives, ICPSR contains many studies that are of use for research and instruction. Contact the Libraries' Data & Digital Scholarship Services for help.

Census Data
data.census.gov is the primary way to access Census Bureau data, including the American Community Survey, Economic Census, Census of Population and Housing, and more. After July 1, 2019, all new data previously released on American FactFinder will be released on this platform.
Data.gov
Home of the U.S. Government's open data, providing access to over 85,000 datasets. Major topic areas include Agriculture, Consumer, Education, Energy, Finance, Geospatial, Global Development, Health, Jobs & Skills, Public Safety, Science & Research, Weather and more. Some resources allow for online analysis and visualization.
Sage Data
Provides access to statistical data produced by U.S. Federal agencies, States, private organizations, and major intergovernmental organizations. Charts, maps, views, rankings, time series and tables are available for use in the Sage Data repository. Sage Data offers capabilities to compare & contrast multiple data series, perform statistical calculations on the data, and customize output views.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Authoritative and comprehensive summary of current statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. Access earlier data (1878 - 2012) from the U.S. Census Bureau.

FRED: Federal Reserve Economic Data
Handy data search tool with easy-to-customize graphs. From the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.

Public Opinion Polls

These are some starting points. For more information, see the Public Opinion Polls & Social Surveys InfoGuide.

Polling the Nations
Contains public opinion polls including full text of 600,000+ questions and responses, from 18,000+ surveys and 1,700+ polling organizations, conducted from 1986 through the present in the United States and more than 100 other countries around the world.

Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

Access data from a leader in the field of public opinion research. Search Roper's iPoll for survey questions and datasets from survey organizations such as Gallup, Harris, Pew Research, ABC, CBS, and more.

Pew Research Center

Survey data on topics including politics, media, religion and social trends. Get data from its research centers: Internet & American Life, Global Attitudes, Hispanic Center, People & the Press, Social & Demographic Trends, and Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Find Best Places to Start

General Country Information

Statista (library subscription)
Portal for statistics with immediate access to over a million statistics and facts. Statista has good international coverage.
Europa World (library subscription)
Comparative international statistics and country information.
International Historical Statistics
International statistics back to 1750.
Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
A good reference tool for world population by geography and by topic.
Proquest Statistical Abstracts of the World (library subscription)
The Proquest Statistical Abstracts of the World is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions.
World Factbook
Basic country information and statistics.

Data from International Organizations & Statistical Agencies

Census Bureau's International Programs Data
Includes: International Data Base (IDB) - demographic indicators, population pyramids, and source information for countries. World Population Summary, Country Rankings, HIV/AIDS Surveillance, and Global Population Mapping.
OECD iLibrary (library subscription)
Statistics on various topics for OECD member and non-member countries. Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).
UN Statistical Databases
Links to national and international statistical information and publications (UN Statistics Division).
World Bank
This site provides access to World Bank data ranging from easy-to-use to research data sets (microdata).

Index to International Statistics

Proquest Statistical Insight (library subscription)
Indexing and full-text access to international statistical publications.

Data Format	[Zipped] SPSS, SAS, & Stata or analyzed online using SDA.
Registration	You will need to create an account to download data. George Mason University is an ICPSR member which means students, staff and faculty have full access to its resources.

How to use	iPOLL Databank Tutorials
Data Format	[Zipped] SPSS, Stata, SAS, Excel
Registration	You will need to create an account to download data. George Mason University is a Roper Center member which means students, staff and faculty have full access to its resources.
How to cite:	How to cite the Roper Center

How to use	Go to their Download Datasets page then select a topical area. Log in to your account (or create one), then pick a survey and click the "Download" arrow on the right. Papers that used the data are also listed.
Data Format	[Zipped] SPSS, converting SPSS to Stata,
Registration	Create an account by providing your name and email and accepting a use agreement and terms of use, which includes agreeing only to use the data for research purposes and not trying to identify individuals.
Focus Fast	Look at the top few studies within each topic, which are the most recent.