InfoGuides: Policy and Government: Find Data

Methods

SAGE Research Methods and Cases Online This link opens in a new window
Find summaries, book chapters, and case studies on research methods (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed). Includes some standard textbooks from SAGE.

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

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
The easiest way to access US Census & American Community Survey data.

ICPSR is a leading social science data repository. Mason Users Only. Must create MyData account to download data.

Census Data This link opens in a new window
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Official site for accessing decennial Census Bureau data (1990, 2000, 2010), Economic Census (1997, 2002, 2007), Annual American Community Survey Data (2000-present) and more. Replaces American Factfinder, effective July 1, 2019.
https://infoguides.gmu.edu/census-data
Data.gov This link opens in a new window
Search datasets produced by US government agencies.
Sage Data This link opens in a new window
Search for data produced by U.S. Federal agencies, states, private organizations, and intergovernmental organizations.
Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
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.
Tutorial for the Statistical Abstract of the United States database.

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

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

Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
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. View a tutorial on this database here.

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. Access Roper Center tutorials, help guides, and educational resources.

Polls on politics, policy and media.

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.

How to use	See our Infoguide: Finding & Using ICPSR Data or ICPSR's YouTube Channel.
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 Cite:	How to cite the datasets

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

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.