Getting Started with Statistics
Where do I find Statistics?
There are many sources for statistics, such as the U.S. government, non-profit research organizations, and educational institutions. The resources on this page will get you started.
Understanding Statistics
- Journalist's Resource has a great article on basic statistical terminology, "Statistical Terms Used in Research Studies: a Primer for Media"
- Lifehacker has a useful page: Basic Errors to Avoid When Interpreting Survey Statistics.
- Robert Niles' web page titled Statistics Help for Journalists contains good basic tips for understanding and using statistics.
Statista & Other Places to Search for Stats
- Statista
This link opens in a new window
Statista is a search tool for statistics that are available on the web. Enter the topic you're interested in and Statista will show you what's available. You can use the graphs and tables in Statista in presentations or reports. - SageStatsSageStats has different sets of statistics from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources going back a couple decades.
- Census ReporterThe Census Reporter lets you search for data from Census Reports. Enter a search topic (like "education") and it will direct you to relevant reports in the Census data.
- American Fact FinderA government website for accessing data from a number of censuses and surveys. Search for your topic to find data related to the your research area.
- Statistical Abstract of the United StatesThe Statistical Abstract provides you with a compilation of data on the US population in a wide variety of categories from a number of data sources. Choose a topic on the left side of the page or search for a topic in the search bar at the top.
- Fed Stats (A to Z Topic List)Provides links to federally collected data by topic. Click on a topic to see available data.
- Ohio University Institutional ResearchInstitutional Research compiles statistics, studies & reports about OU faculty, staff, students, depts/colleges or OU itself (these would NOT be reports about individual people, but about groups, e.g., the avg. salary of all faculty in the Engineering dept)
- Ohio County ProfilesProvided on the web for free by the State of Ohio. Click on the provided map to choose a particular county profile.
Pew Research Center: "Numbers, Facts & Trends Shaping Your World"
The Pew Research Center provides nonpartisan research and statistical analysis on public opinion and social trends. The Pew focuses on seven projects, each with its own website:
- The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
- Project for Excellence in Journalism
- Pew Internet & American Life Project
- The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
- Pew Hispanic Center
- Pew Global Attitudes Project
- Social & Demographic Trends
Also at the Pew Research Center
The Pew's "All Things Census" site is an ongoing collection of commentary & resources on the 2010 Census findings.
The Pew also provides data such as:
- a daily statistical number that demonstrates a recent trend, accompanied by an article with links to related information
- key indicators -- national, political, economic and demographic trends
- datasets you can download *
* NOTE: If you want to download a dataset cited by Pew and can't find a data download link on any Pew site, try searching for the same data in ICPSR (the library has a subscription to ICPSR)
Simply Map -- Map US Demographic Data
Mapping U.S. Demographic Data
SimplyMap is a powerful tool that allows users to select specific data sets and build custom demographic maps & reports for U.S. locations, down to the county, city or census tract level. (more about SimplyMap)
Notes about the use of SimplyMap:
- Our license agreement allows only five users to log on to SimplyMap at one time.
- Users who would like to save their work should “Create a Personal Workspace.”
- Reports can be downloaded into Excel spreadsheet format.
To get help using SimplyMap, try the tutorials at the top right of the SimplyMap homepage, or Ask an Alden Library staff member for help.