LibGuides: SOCIOL 332: Methods of Social Research: Finding Data

Find Statistics and Numeric Data

General Social Survey (GSS)
The GSS has been a reliable source of data to help researchers, students, and journalists monitor and explain trends in American behaviors, demographics, and opinions. You'll find the complete GSS data set on this site, and can access the GSS Data Explorer to explore, analyze, extract, and share custom sets of GSS data.
Adolescent Health (ADD Health)
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year. The Add Health cohort has been followed into young adulthood with four in-home interviews, the most recent in 2008, when the sample was aged 24-32. Add Health is re-interviewing cohort members in a Wave V follow-up from 2016-2018.

ICPSR Data Archive
ICPSR, the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, is a membership-based organization which collects data from individual researchers, polling agencies, and governmental and international agencies. Its purpose is to maximize the availability and utilization of data resources by obtaining data and the technical documentation needed to access them for redistribution to its membership. Duke University's membership in ICPSR allows all Duke researchers to use ICPSR resources free of charge.

American National Election Studies
The ANES conducts national surveys of the American electorate in presidential and midterm election years and carries out research and development work through pilot studies in odd-numbered years. The NES time-series now encompasses 26 election studies spanning over five decades. The longevity of the NES time-series greatly enhances the utility of the data, since measures can be pooled over time, and both long-term trends and the political impact of historical events can be identified. Registration required.

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997
"The NLSY97 consists of a nationally representative sample of approximately 9,000 youths who were 12 to 16 years old as of December 31, 1996. Round 1 of the survey took place in 1997. In that round, both the eligible youth and one of that youth's parents received hour-long personal interviews. In addition, during the screening process, an extensive two-part questionnaire was administered that listed and gathered demographic information on members of the youth's household and on his or her immediate family members living elsewhere. Youths are interviewed on an annual basis." -- From the Bureau of Labor Statistics website

Roper iPoll This link opens in a new window
Search for data from polls conducted by many leading survey research organizations. NOTE: Users must register for a personal account. Previous login credentials will not provide access to Roper iPoll. A new account will be required.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Create maps using United States demographic data going back to 1790
SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new window
Develop interactive thematic maps and reports using more than 100,000 demographic, business, and marketing data variables.
Includes data from the US Census, the American Community Survey (ACS), the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), D&B's Points-of-Interest business directory, and MRI-SimmonsLOCAL consumer behavior dataset.

Data.gov - data collections generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government
Quality of Government (QoG) Data - A collection of data sets covering economic, political, and social issues related to the quality of government.
WHO Global Health Observatory - Data on health topics around the world.

U.S. Census
The Census Bureau's primary web source. U.S. Census provides tables and maps of all census geographies down to the block level.

USA.gov
Find data about the U.S., such as demographic and economic data, population, and maps.

Historical Statistics of the United States "The Millennial Edition is the definitive source of statistics and data about the United States and is a key resource for American history research from Colonial times to the present."