Research Guides: Data and Statistics: Home

Welcome to the Data & Statistics Guide

This guide will help you find data and statistics by sharing useful tools for discovering this type of information.

Data is the raw information from which statistics are created.
- Data sets are often several sets of files. Usually, one file is the raw data, and one is the codebook that explains how to use the raw data.

Statistics provide an interpretation and summary of the data.
- Statistical analysis is done on raw data sets in order to create statistics.

Advice for Finding Data and Statistics

Identify who would have collected the data.
- Federal governments, state governments, local governments or agencies
- A nonprofit or community organization
- Industry group or private business
- Academic researchers

Here are a few databases most likely to have datasets you can use.

ICPSR This link opens in a new window
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) maintains and provides access to an archive of social science data for research and instruction, and offers training in quantitative methods to facilitate effective data use. Auraria campus users (faculty, staff, students) must register for a personal ICPSR account from an on-campus, networked computer (or a VPN connection) to be able to download data.

Data.gov
Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government.
Denver Open Data
Open data about all aspects of Denver including transportation, population, buildings, public works, etc.

Data USA
Purpose is to understand and visualize critical issues facing the United States such as jobs, skills, and education. Data and data visualizations cover a large variety of industries and topics.

Sage Data This link opens in a new window
Supplies statistical data series created from more than 400,000 government and non-government datasets viewable in tables, charts, maps, and graphs. Covers a wide range of business, societal and scientific topics including agriculture, arts, crime, employment and labor, defense, economy, education, energy, environment, geography, government finances, health, households and housing, immigration, politics, population, religion, social services, and transportation. Formerly known as Data Planet.

UNdata
Statistical information from member states on agriculture, crime, education, employment, energy, environment, health, HIV/AIDS, human development, industry, information and communication technology, national accounts, population, refugees, tourism, trade, as well as the Millennium Development Goals indicators.

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