Data and Statistics in the social sciences subject guide 

In this subject guide, you will find resources containing, or connecting you to, either one or both of these forms of commonly sought numeric information in the social sciences:

• Data: collected as part of a social science study – you can formulate questions and get answers by selecting variables of interest and analyzing them.  At the most granular level, directly as collected during a study, also called microdata. For statistical analysis, you typically use software such as SPSS, Stata, or (for smaller datasets) Excel.  Here is one example:
  
  This form of information is meant to be used as input for a computer program, not for direct understanding through reading/viewing.  (If you need help with choosing appropriate statistical analysis methods, or using statistical analysis software, with data, please contact the StatLab.)   A relatively small, but increasing, number of datasets is also available for direct online analysis, which requires no use of software - it's all done inside your web browser.
  
  
• Statistics: already analyzed data, with published results in form of tables, charts, maps, etc. – in effect, the answers to someone else’s formulated questions of a statistical nature. This form of information is generally delivered for your direct reading.  Here is one example:
  
  This is fine if the breakdown of the TANF expenditures by state, for those years, is what you were looking for; if not, and you need it broken down by family size, or congressional district, or for different years, or ... you need to find another table, or find the data on which it was based.  Don't hesitate to ask for assistance with that.
  
  Statistics in electronic format, with a suitable layout for importing into a statistical analysis program, and enough records, can in turn become aggregate data that can be analyzed.

This guide can, of course, no more contain pointers to all the numeric information in than it could to all textual information in the social sciences - so if you don't find what you need here on a given topic, start with looking at subject guides in other fields of the social sciences, each one of which may contain a section on numeric information in that field.

This subject guide is arranged in tabs for different purposes:

• Search: online resources that allow you to search for any topic.  When looking for data/statistics on a given subject, should usually be consulted along with the resources found in any of the topic-oriented tabs, unless you find what you need right there.
• Tools & Guides: resources not (primarily) for locating/retrieving data or statistics on a given topic, but supplemental or informational.
• General: resources that provide data/statistics not focused on any particular topic; this includes portals and statistical agencies.

The other tabs list resources of potential use specifically to the topic indicated in their title.