LibGuides: *Public Policy*: Statistics

Statistics Databases

Statistical Abstract This link opens in a new window
A collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. Selected international data are also included. The Abstract is also a guide to sources of other data from the Census Bureau, other Federal agencies, and private organizations. NOTE: The U.S. Census Bureau is terminating the collection of data for the Statistical Abstract of the United States, the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book and the County and City Data Book. OSU is seeking commercial products to in some way replace the data services that SA provided.
Coverage Dates: - 2006

Statistics Canada
Canadian statistics. Using approximately 2,700 tables from CANSIM, you can track trends in virtually every aspect of the lives of Canadians. CANSIM contains more than 36 million time series. The data of the Censuses of population and agriculture can be displayed in the form of tables, graphs and maps for several geographic areas.
Coverage Dates: 1665 - present

Historical Statistics of the United States (Cambridge) This link opens in a new window
Fourth edition. The U.S. Bureau of the Census published the prior editions in 1949, 1960, and 1975, the last known as the Bicentennial Edition. Cambridge University Press publishes this, the Millennial Edition, with the permission of the Census Bureau.
Coverage Dates: 1610 - 2000

Social Trends and Indicators USA
The online reference book provides in-depth statistics on social issues paired with expert analyses. Statistical data is gathered from respected sources including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Social Security Administration; data is also gathered from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the stock exchanges.
Coverage Dates: 2003 - present

Data.gov This link opens in a new window
The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

As a priority Open Government Initiative for President Obama's administration, Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov.

Data for Local Communities
This website is a gathering place for statistical, spatial, and descriptive information about the cities, counties and other civil, economic and natural regions of Oregon and Washington. The LocalData database lets you retrieve web-based information by topic and geography, while Additional Resources provides links to geospatial data and other organizational websites.
GSS: General Social Survey
The GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource. It has tracked the opinions of Americans over the last four decades.
US Census Data
Data.Census.Gov is the new platform to access all data products from the US Census. This includes the decennial census, American Community Survey, and economic data.

Statistics Sources

Pew Social & Demographic Trends from the Pew Research Center studies behaviors and attitudes of Americans in key realms of their lives, including family, community, health, finance, work and leisure. The project explores these topics by combining original public opinion survey research with social, economic and demographic data analysis.

In addition to ICPSR and sites listed in the Facts and Figures guide, there are many other resources for pulling statistics.

For Federal and State statistics guidance, see the Statistics tab on the Government Information guide as well as UO's American Policy Directory and Oregon Policy Directory (links on this page)

Economic Data

Here are websites of major importance for economic data:

Bureau of Labor Statistics http://stats.bls.gov
Census Bureau http://www.census.gov
Department of Labor http://dol.gov
Department of Housing and Urban Development http://hud.gov
Federal Reserve System http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/default.htm
World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/
International Monetary Fund http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm

Many online statistical resources for Economics are listed on the American Economic Association's webpage Resources for Economics on the Internet at http://www.aeaweb.org/RFE/.

ICPSR Data Archive

ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research

An international consortium of about 700 academic institutions and research organizations, ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for the social science research community.

ICPSR maintains a data archive of more than 500,000 files of research in the social sciences. It hosts 16 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.

ICPSR's educational activities include the Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research external link , a comprehensive curriculum of intensive courses in research design, statistics, data analysis, and social methodology. ICPSR also leads several initiatives that encourage use of data in teaching, particularly for undergraduate instruction.

As a member of ICPSR, OSU students, faculty, and staff have access to the ICPSR data archive, and to educational activities, classroom-ready data, and web based instruction. OSU researchers also have the opportunity of depositing their own data to take advantage of long-term preservation and worldwide dissemination.

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