Data Sources
There are a wide range of data sources available for most topics, but most of the time, government data is where you'll want to start. Organizations/associations, companies and individual researchers may also collect data, but they generally do not have the resources to collect data at as broad of a scale as the Government. It would be impossible to list every potential source of data available, but below are some of the important ones to consider.
FedStats is a good source for determining what U.S. government data is available.
Demographics & Labor data
- World Bank DataThe data catalog provides download access to over 2,000 indicators from World Bank sources.
- CEIC Data ManagerCEIC Data contains economic, industrial and financial time-series data. Our Global Database offers unprecedented coverage of 221 countries in Asia, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East, Africa and the Americas. EIC also offers 18 macro-economic concepts, and 1,400,000 time series. Data comes from analysts on the ground and the prime national and regional statistical agencies and major industrial data issuing organizations of each country covered. The CEIC Data Manager provides access to the entire CEIC database from within the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet application. Times-series can be directly retrieved from the database and imported into Excel for quick analysis.
- United Nations - Demographic YearbookThe UN describes the demographic yearbook by stating it "disseminates statistics on population size and composition, births, deaths, marriage and divorce, as well as respective rates, on an annual basis. The... datasets cover a wide range of additional topics including economic activity, educational attainment, household characteristics, housing characteristics, ethnicity, language, foreign-born and foreign population."
- ILOStat (International Labor Organization Statistics)The leading source for international labor statistics.
- Data Research For Labor Economics GuideA guide compiled by Cornell's ILR Librarians for Labor Economics Reserach.
- EurostatEurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. It provides the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.
- OECD iLibraryOECD iLibrary also contains content published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).
- NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) Data setsA mix of economic, political, demographic, and health data sets.
- Social ExplorerOnline research tool designed to provide quick and easy access to modern and historical census data and demographic information. Create fast, intuitive, and illustrative maps and reports to help visually analyze and understand demography and social change throughout history. Site currently includes data from the entire US Census from 1790 to 2000, all annual updates from the American Community Survey to 2008, original Census tract-level estimates for 2006 and 2007, the Religious Congregations and Membership Study from 1980 to 2000, and 2002 Carbon Emissions Data from the Vulcan Project.
- PolicyMapOnline data and mapping tool for creating custom reports of data related to demographics, real estate, health, jobs, the environment, education and more. Data comes from authoritative public and proprietary sources. It has thousands of indicators on demographics, the economy, housing, lending, quality of life, education, health, and more. Data is available at the neighborhood census block group in many cases, up to a national level, depending on the data.
- SimplyAnalyticsSimplyAnalytics is a web-based mapping application that allows you to create thematic maps and reports using demographic, business, and marketing data for the United States. Excellent source for locating demographic and marketing data for specific geographic locations.
General Data sources
- StatistaStatista provides access to statistics and studies gathered by market researchers, trade organizations, scientific publications, and government sources on over 600 industries.
- ICPSRProvides search and browsing access to abstracts and data sets in the world's largest archive of computerized social science data at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). ICPSR Direct allows Cornellians to download data directly from links in the ICPSR catalog of holdings after they provide name, Cornell affiliation, department, and e-mail address. After registering, you may obtain data by entering your e-mail address and using a Cornell IP address. Access to off-campus Cornell users is provided by the Cornell University Find Databases function. The CISER Data Archive can assist students in downloading the complete files.
Development
- UNDataAgriculture, Crime, Education, Employment, Energy, Environment, Health, HIV/AIDS, Human Development, Industry, Information and Communication Technology, National Accounts, Population, Refugees, Tourism, Trade, as well as the Millennium Development Goals indicators.
- International Statistics gathering agenciesComprehensive list by country, compiled by the U. S. Census Bureau. NOTE: Scroll to bottom of web page for the list.
- OECD StatOECD.Stat is the statistical online platform of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development where users can search and access OECD's statistical databases. Build tables, download data, and view methodology and sources. Browse by theme or country or search for data.
- World Development Indicators OnlineThe World Development Indicators (WDI) is the primary World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources. It presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates.
Health data and statistics
- Health Data and Statistics Research GuideA robust source of health data. While most of the information here is geared towards the United States, there are international resources as well.
- World Health Organization (WHO)The World Health Organization is an agency of the United Nations and is an international coordinating agency for public health.
Useful WHO databases for data and statistics include the Global Health Observatory (providing national statistics for health indicators), WHO Global Infobase Online (chronic diseases and risk factors), and the Global Health Atlas. Data is also accessible by topical categories. - Center for Disease Control (CDC)The CDC is a part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and is the primary federal agency for public health.
- National Center for Health StatisticsPart of the CDC, the National Center for Health Statistics highlights a range of data relevant to health topics in the United States.