Research Guides: CHEM 100: Atoms to Cells: Finding Statistics and Data

Finding Statistics and Data

Looking for statistics and data? There are a number of ways to go about finding them! Besides searching the literature for your topic, you can also try looking in one of our databases of data, statistics, and polls (including ones that allow data visualization like PolicyMap or SimplyAnalytics).

Data, Statistics, and Polls

Sage Data (formerly Data Planet)
Sage Data is a large repository of harmonized and structured data in which users can search, compare, visualize and analyze data all on one platform. It provides access to 550+ U.S and International databases through one central searchable platform. Datasets cover a wide range of topics, 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.
Statista
Statista gathers statistical information on over 600 industries from over 10,000 different sources, such as market researchers, trade organizations, scientific publications, and government sources.
PolicyMap
PolicyMap is a data and mapping tool with access to tens of thousands of indicators from hundreds of authoritative sources on topics such as demographics, incomes & spending, housing, quality of life, economy, education, and health. Users can create maps of up to five layers, export trend charts with key benchmarks, download data for use in visualization tools, generate on-the-fly reports, and upload their own data for comparisons.
SimplyAnalytics
SimplyAnalytics is a web-based mapping, analytics and data visualization program providing over 75,000 data variables. Professional mapping applications take over 20 hours of training to use, but this has been designed to be incredibly user friendly - most users are up and running with less than 10 minutes of training. Access includes data from the year 2000, 2010, Current Estimates, Five Year Projections, the American Community Survey, Decennial Census, County and ZIP Code Business Patterns Survey and the Consumer Expenditure Data (CEX) and the Claritas PRIZM data module.

American Community Survey
By U. S. Census Bureau; fills in gaps between decennial censuses
Global Health Observatory (GHO) Data Repository
Put together by the World Health Organization (WHO), this resource provides data classified according to health related topics. Relevant indicators are grouped together in the various data views in order to provide broader context for the information provided.

Questions to ask the data

From the University of Washington's guide to data:

Questions to Ask the Data

Follow the data to the source:

Where did this data come from? Who (person or entity) gathered the data?

Who funded the data collection? What are their biases and priorities for this data?

What is the research context of this data?

What was the purpose of compiling this dataset? Why did the researcher gather this data?

What research projects has this data been used for?

Look for similar datasets, how does the data compare? Are there differences across datasets that need to be mediated?

Is this data common knowledge?

What is missing from the dataset? Who or what is not represented by the dataset?

Questions to Ask Yourself as a Student Researcher

Is the dataset appropriate for the purpose of your research?

How does your research align with the goals of other research that has used this data?

Is the dataset relevant to the discipline of your research?

How do you have to manipulate the data to fit your research question? Is there another dataset better suited for your research purpose?