Research Guides: Political Science: Data & Statistics

Data Archives

ICPSR (datasets) This link opens in a new window
The Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research (ICPSR) maintains a dataset archive of research in the social and behavioral sciences. It hosts 21 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.
Each study's dataset provides documentation (e.g. codebook), and a bibliography of published articles that used the data. Data offered in many formats.
Must create an ICPSR account to download data. Coverage: 1700s-present.
Data Citation Index (via Web of Science) This link opens in a new window
Research data resource with references to associated publications. Includes social sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, and arts and humanities research datasets. Coverage: 1900-present.

NBER National Bureau of Economic Research
Links to the data sets included in the NBER's research.
GESIS Leibniz Institute for Social Science Research (Germany) SSOAR (Social Science Open Access Repository)
CESSDA Council of European Social Science Data Archives
IQSS Dataverse Network - Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences (Harvard)

Open Data Repositories

Qualitative Data

Qualitatve Research Methods & Tools UNM Library Guide
UNM research guide with links to information and tips about conducting qualitative research and using qualitative research tools.
Qualitative Data Repository (Syracuse U)
Stores digital data generated and analyzed through qualitative and multi-method research. The repository’s holdings include multiple types of qualitative data including (but not limited to) unpublished primary sources, published primary sources, primary sources cited in secondary sources, and secondary sources.

Data are stored in a variety of formats and media: alpha-numeric (e.g., word-processed text, databases, spreadsheets), audio (digital and non-digital), video, and photographic (digital and non-digital).

Research Data Support at UNM

Digital Data Management, Curation, and Archiving
by Jon Wheeler Last Updated Sep 19, 2024 44 views this year

Data Citation Standards and Practices
by Jon Wheeler Last Updated Aug 27, 2024 1 views this year

UNM Subscription Data & Statistics Resources

ICPSR (datasets) This link opens in a new window
The primary social science data archive in the US. Search or browse for data sets on a wide range of social issues from more than 100 countries. Includes survey data, census records, election returns, economic data, and legislative records. Direct download access to data sets requires creating a personal account. In addition, analysis of ICPSR data sets requires the use of specialized software. For more information on this process, please consult the ICPSR Get Help page or contact me, Liz Cooper (cooperliz@unm.edu).
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
Good for CURRENT data (it only has data for the last 10 years), it includes over 15,000 indicators related to major themes such as demographics, real estate, crime, health, arts, employment, energy, and education from government and other sources. Also has the ability to generate maps, lists, tables, and reports by collocating numerous data sources based on a set of variables -- you can layer up to three variables on a map.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Social Explorer is good for finding historical data. It provides easy-to-use tools for visual exploration of demographic information (but you can only map one variable at a time), including the US Census (back to 1790), the American Community Survey (ACS), economic data, election data, religion data, and more. With these interactive online tools, users can visually explore change over time and understand the patterns behind the raw numbers.
Users must create and log into your personal account on Social Explorer.

Datapedia of the United States, 1790-2005: America year by year
E-book with compiled historical US government statistics related to 24 different topics (also available in print in Zimmerman or Parish at call number HA202 K87 2001).

Data Citation Index (via Web of Science) This link opens in a new window
Research data resource with references to associated publications. Includes social sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, and arts and humanities research datasets. Coverage: 1900-present.

Major US Data & Statistics Sources (FREE resources)

US Federal Agency Statistics & Data - General

Data.gov This link opens in a new window
Portal for datasets (statistical and geospatial) produced by the US federal government. The site is not exhaustive but does include data from many agencies.

Census Data, Demographics, Population Surveys

U.S. Census Bureau This link opens in a new window
Gathers social, demographic and economic information about the US through many censuses and surveys. Browse their massive amounts of data by using either the "Topics" tab or the "Index A-Z" link. Click on the "Data" tab to view a list of the Census Bureau "Data Tools and Apps" for finding and using the data. Includes information on the number, geographic distribution, and social and economic characteristics of the population, including official estimates of income and poverty, estimates of health insurance coverage and homeownership rates, and a quarterly indicator of housing vacancies.
Data.Census.Gov This link opens in a new window
One of the best tools to access US Census Bureau data and statistics from these censuses and surveys. Users can create data tables and download them into spreadsheet files.

Current Population Survey
A joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census Bureau (not included in American FactFinder). The CPS is a monthly survey that collects basic socio-demographic information and labor force characteristics. To access CPS data files, users can go through the Data Ferrett (see link below). Alternately, they can go to the National Bureau of Economic Research's CPS site or to the IPUMS CPS site.
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
(From the Univ of Minnesota Population Center) Excellent source for US Census data in the form of microdata samples (i.e. NOT compiled statistics) from each decennial Census from 1850-2000 and from the American Community Survey from 2001 on. View a list of the samples available. IPUMS also adds value to this data by assigning uniform codes across all the samples and bringing relevant documentation into a coherent form to facilitate analysis of social and economic change. IPUMS also hosts a growing collection of microdata census files from foreign countries as well as a microdata from the CPS.
NHGIS (National Historical Geographic Information System)
Access to summary statistics and GIS boundary files for U.S. censuses and other nationwide surveys from 1790 through the present. (From the Minnesota Population Center)

Agriculture

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

Criminal Justice and Violence

See tab in left navigation labeled "Criminology Specific Resources."

Economics

US Bureau of Economic Analysis
From the US Department of Commerce.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
USDA Economic Research Service

Education

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.
Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA)
Includes a range of detailed data on educational conditions, contexts, and outcomes in schools and school districts across the United States. It includes data at a range of institutional and geographic levels of aggregation, including schools, districts, counties, commuting zones, metropolitan areas, and states. It includes measures of academic achievement, achievement gaps, school and neighborhood racial and socioeconomic composition, school and neighborhood racial and socioeconomic segregation patterns, and other features of the schooling system.

Health

GIDEON (Global Infectious Diseases & Epidemiology Online Network This link opens in a new window
One-stop resource for data on infectious diseases (over 2,000 pathogens). Provides information on diseases: history of outbreaks back to 1348AD, geographic spread, and treatment. Includes a visualization tool to create charts as well as a differential diagnosis tool. Information updated daily to provide the most current information.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
From the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, this is the nation's principal health statistics agency.
CDC WONDER
CDC WONDER, the Center for Disease Control's "Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research," is the CDC's platform for sharing its data and reports.
Kaiser Family Foundation
Health related data and statistics about the US and individual states.

Religion

International Data Sources

World Bank Data
Open access to data about development from countries around the globe. You can search via country, topic, indicator OR click on the "Data Catalog" tab for a list of all available data sets OR click on the "Microdata" tab for available microdata.
World Development Indicators (World Bank)
One of the data sets available from the World Bank - allows you to quickly create tables comparing time series data on a variety of indicators by country.
Statistical Capacity Building Project (World Bank)
"Provides resources to help ... develop better statistical capacity that advances the national and international monitoring of development policies and goals." The resources here include various reports on the quality of gathering of data/statistics in individual countries, as well as a database of "statistical capacity indicator" scores. Keep this site in mind when considering different topics for research - it will help you get a sense of where data availability will be a problem for a particular country.
Global Health Observatory (GHO) Data (WHO)
The World Health Organization's gateway to health-related statistics and data. Includes a data repository, country statistics and reports.
UNdata
Portal for many UN agency statistics (see the UN's COMTRADE database for more detailed international trade statistics/information).
eurostat
From the statistical office of the EU, provides statistics at the European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.
OECD iLibrary
The online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) featuring its books, papers and statistics and is the gateway to OECD’s analysis and data

Great place to look for data sets on specific topics

In addition to the links on this page, Princeton University Library's Data & Statistical Services librarians have created a Data Catalog for identifying data sets on specific topics. As the links on the site are via Princeton’s servers some of their subscirption links will not work for us at UNM, but iif you identify a useful data set that is not freely available, check if UNM might have access by contacting me, Liz Cooper (cooperliz@unm.edu) for assistance.

New Mexico Data

UNM BBER (Bureau of Business and Economic Research) Data Links
Includes summary NM socioeconomic and population statistics. BBER will also consult with users.
City of Albuquerque's ABQ Data
The city's clearing house for open data. Includes crime incident data.

Polling Data

Roper Center Archives for Public Opinion Research (iPoll) This link opens in a new window
Public opinion polling data from U.S. and international polling firms on a broad range of topics including opinions and behavior on social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs. Download datasets and tables. Coverage: 1935 to present.

Public opinion polls cover both political and sociological topics.

To learn more about polls, check out the tutorial on Polling Fundamentals (from the Roper Center). Designed for the novice, it provides definitions, examples, and explanations that introduce students to the field of public opinion research.

For an overview of the major polling websites (both free and subscription), review this article: Guide to Public Opinion Poll Web Sites.

Some useful websites and tools with poll information include:

General Social Survey
Longitudinal studies of trends in American attitudes; contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest related to the US population since 1972. From NORC (National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago).
Pew Research Center
A nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Has great data and reports on: U.S. politics, media & news, social trends, religion, internet & tech, Hispanics, global issues.
Odum Institute Archive Dataverse
Searchable archive of specific poll questions from Louis Harris polls and others. The Odum Institute maintains one of the oldest and largest archives of machine-readable data in the U.S. Its Louis Harris Data Center is the exclusive national repository for Louis Harris public opinion data. The Institute has an extensive collection of U.S. Census data, including one of the most complete holdings for 1970 Census files.
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
World Public Opinion.org
An international collaborative project whose aim is to give voice to public opinion around the world on international issues
American National Election Studies (ANES)
Conducts national surveys of the American electorate. Time Series Studies are conducted during years of national elections. In presidential election years, the study is typically conducted both before and after the election (that is, a pre-election survey and a post-election survey), while for congressional election years the study has typically been conducted only after the election (a post-election survey).
Gallup Organization Home Page
Free version -- highlights some of Gallup's hot topics polls.