Research Guides: Criminology, Law & Society: Data

Social Science Data Research Guide

Social Science Data Research Guide

Google Data

Google Dataset Search
"Dataset Search enables users to find datasets stored across thousands of repositories on the Web, making these datasets universally accessible and useful...
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"Datasets and related data tend to be spread across multiple data repositories on the web. In many cases, information about these datasets is neither linked nor has it been indexed by search engines, making data discovery tedious or, in some cases, impossible.

By providing our users with a single interface that allows them to search across multiple repositories, we hope to transform how data is being published and used. We also believe that this project will have the additional benefits of a) creating a data sharing ecosystem that will encourage data publishers to follow best practices for data storage and publication and b) giving scientists a way to show the impact of their work through citation of datasets that they have produced."

Key Sources of Data

ICPSR: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research*
Mission Statement: "ICPSR advances and expands social and behavioral research, acting as a global leader in data stewardship and providing rich data resources and responsive educational opportunities for present and future generations."
Census Data Site Index
"Access data through products and tools including data visualizations, mobile apps, interactive web apps and other software."
Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER)
"The Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research was founded in 1981. Our mission is to anticipate and support the evolving computational and data needs of Cornell social scientists and economists throughout the entire research process and data life cycle."
CQ Press Voting and Elections Collection : Expert Analysis, Demographics, and Data*
"Voting and Elections Collection integrates a wealth of data, authoritative analyses, concise explanations, and historical material to provide a powerful research and reference tool on the American voter, major and minor political parties, campaigns and elections, and historical and modern races for Congress, the presidency, and governorships."
Data.gov
Data.gov is managed and hosted by the U.S. General Services Administration, Technology Transformation Service.
EIU: Economist Intelligence Unit*
Search or browse by country or geographic entity, or by reports (Country Report, Country Commerce, or Country Finance).
General Social Survey
Online analysis for this important survey
IMF eLibrary Data
See also this earlier data page: Data.
iPoll*
Roper Center collects, preserves, disseminates public opinion data."
Measuring Worth
MeasuringWorth is a service for calculating relative worth over time of: several factors including ...
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Annualized Growth Rates
Relative Values - US $
Relative Values - UK £
Relative Values - China
Relative Values - Japan ¥
Conversion ($ and £)
Purchasing Power - US $
Purchasing Power - UK £
Savings Growth - US $
Inflation Rates
Stock Growth Rates (DJIA, SP500, & NASDAQ)

The site also offers historical data on GDP, wages etc.
Murray Research Archive DataVerse
Harvard-based data archive covering a variety of social science subjects
National Bureau of Economic Research: Data
Datasets used by researchers at the NBER
NCCOR Catalogue of Surveillance Systems
An index online to over 100 so called data "systems." This is an extraordinarily helpful directory of crucial data platforms.
OECD iLibrary*
Click on Statistics tab for links to data series etc.
Polling the Nations*
"Polling the Nations is an online database of public opinion polls containing the full text of 700,000+ 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."
ProQuest Statistical Abstracts*
Access to tabular statistics across countries and topics.
Sociometrics*
The Sociometrics Social Science Electronic Data Library (SSEDL) is a health and social science resource that consists of data sets from six topically-focused collections.
World Development Indicators
Part of World DataBank from the World Bank: Statistical tables on development from countries around the world, from World Bank. Includes: More than 550 development indicators, with time series for 208 countries and 18 country groups from 1960 to the current year.

Select Data Sources

American Community Survey (ACS). Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce
ACS provides annual data about demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics of the United States (US) population.
American Time Use Survey (ATUS) - Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Department of Labor
"The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing."
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
"The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the nation's premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services."
California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
"The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) is the nation's largest state health survey and a critical source of data on Californians as well as on the state's various racial and ethnic groups."
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"CHIS is the largest state health survey in the nation. It is a random-dial telephone survey that asks questions on a wide range of health topics. CHIS is conducted on a continuous basis allowing the survey to generate timely one-year estimates. CHIS provides representative data on all 58 counties in California and provides a detailed picture of the health and health care needs of California’s large and diverse population."
Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) - Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Department of Labor
"The Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) program provides data on expenditures, income, and demographic characteristics of consumers in the United States. The CE program provides these data in tables, databases, news releases, reports, and public-use microdata files."
Early Childhood Longitudinal Programs (ECLS). Institute of Education Sciences (IES). National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES)
"The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program includes three longitudinal studies that examine child development, school readiness, and early school experiences."
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"The is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education."
NCCOR Catalogue of Surveillance Systems
An index online to 105 so called data "systems." This is an extraordinarily helpful directory of crucial data platforms.
Veganism Data - Faunalytics
"Study of Current and Former Vegetarians and Vegans. There are no restrictions on using these datasets outside of crediting that any findings are based on a study that was designed and carried out by Faunalytics."

International Data

Correlates of War Project Facilitates the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations.
Eurostat Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide statistical information to the institutions of the European Union (EU) and to promote the harmonisation of statistical methods across its member states and candidates for accession as well as EFTA countries.
FAOSTAT FAOSTAT provides free access to food and agriculture data for over 245 countries and territories and covers all FAO regional groupings from 1961 to the most recent year available.
Global Financial Data Global Financial Data is a collection of financial and economic data provided in ASCII or Excel format.
International data base (IDB) U.S. Census Bureau Contains statistical tables of demographic data for countries and areas of the world with a population of 5,000 or more. Covers 1950 to present with projections to 2050
International Monetary Fund Data Provides operational advice to IMF member countries that are subscribers to the Special Data Dissemination Standard regarding how to complete the prescribed (mandatory) monthly Data Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity.
OECD iLibrary "OECD iLibrary is OECD's Online Library for Books, Papers and Statistics and the gateway to OECD's analysis and data. OECD iLibrary contains all the publications and datasets released by OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and International Transport Forum (ITF) since 1998."
Polity IV Project Offers data on political regime characteristics and transitions, 1800-2013.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI provides data on conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
UN Comtrade Database Access to detailed global trade data.
UNdata Offers a variety of statistical resources covering the following areas: Education, Employment, Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Health, Human Development, Industry, Information and Communication Technology, National Accounts, Population, Refugees, Trade and Tourism.
World Bank DataBank DataBank is an analysis and visualisation tool that contains collections of time series data on a variety of topics. Users can create their own queries; generate tables, charts, and maps; and easily save, embed, and share them.