Library Research Guides: POL1 328: Immigration Politics and Policy: Find Data & Statistics

Data & Statistics Sources

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista provides statistical data on many topics including media, business, politics, society, technology and education. Sources include market reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases. Data can be accessed by searching or browsing by industry, topic, country, digital market or infographic.
Sage Data (formerly Data Planet) This link opens in a new window
An extensive repository of standardized and structured statistical data. Datasets cover a wide range of subjects — including business, finance, banking, economics, sociology, political science, demography, agriculture, education, international studies, criminal justice, housing and construction, labor and employment, energy resources and industries, and more.
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
U.S. statistics (mostly at the national level) from over a thousand sources, with downloadable tables in .csv and .xls formats and the ability to create customized tables and spreadsheets.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Interactive tool that combines modern and historical US census and demographic data with an intuitive map interface, 1790 to present.

Data.census.gov
The newest website from the U.S. Census Bureau containing demographic and socioeconomic data.
Data.gov
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.

Here are some criteria to keep in mind when choosing and using data:

Accuracy - Who is included in this data? Who is excluded from this data? What is the purpose of the dataset and why was it produced?
Authority - Who collected this data? Who published the dataset or compiled the statistics? Is the author/publisher credible? What are the author/publisher's credentials (educational background, past writing, experience) in this area? Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies? Is the publisher scholarly (university press, scholarly associations)? Commercial? Government agency? Is the source self-published (“vanity”press)?
Objectivity - Does the author have a bias, political or commercial or persuasive? How have they used the data? What conclusions have they drawn? Who is included in this dataset, and why? Who is excluded in this dataset, and why?
Currency - Is this information new or based on outdated sources? Can you tell how current it is?
Audience - Who is the information written for: a specific readership, level of expertise, or age/grade level? Is the audience focus appropriate for a research paper?

Unsure about a dataset? Ask me!