Clark Family Library: POL340: Data Sources

General Data Sources

ICPSR This link opens in a new window
ICPSR, the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, offers a large social science data archive. The data is available in many data formats. Make an account to download data.

Data.gov
If you don't know what agency to start with, use this government data portal.
Qualitative Data Repository
Project hosted at Syracuse University that curates and hosts data from qualitative social science projects.

US Government Data Sources

US Census Bureau Data
Provides data profiles, tables and maps, data tools and links to the census data explorer.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
National, regional, industry, and essential information on key issues such as economic growth, regional economic development, and the Nation's position in the world economy.
Bureau of Justice
BJS mission: To collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Statistics and tables from the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Offers data, surveys, and full-text reports about all levels of education. From the U. S. Department of Education.
National Center for Health Statistics
Welcome to the National Center for Health Statistics' website, a rich source of information about America's health. As the Nation's principal health statistics agency, we compile statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health of our people. We are a unique public resource for health information - a critical element of public health and health policy.

International Data Sources

CIA World Factbook
Concise and current facts and statistics about 267 countries and entities. Published annually by the Central Intelligence Agency.
OECD Data
UNData
Provides 15 databases from different UN agencies covering agriculture, health, human development, communication technology, industry, population, refugees, trade and tourism.
United Nations Data (UNSTATS)
UNSD compiles and disseminates global statistical information, develops standards and norms for statistical activities, and supports countries' efforts to strengthen their national statistical systems.
World Bank Data
Free and open access to global development data

2022 Corruption Perceptions Index
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
CIRI Human Rights Data Project
The CIRI Human Rights Dataset contains standards-based quantitative information on government respect for 15 internationally recognized human rights for 202 countries, annually from 1981-2011.
CIRI Human Rights Data Project
The CIRI Human Rights Dataset contains standards-based quantitative information on government respect for 15 internationally recognized human rights for 202 countries, annually from 1981-2011.
Democracy Index 2022
The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of democracy in 165 independent states and two territories.
Freedom House
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world.
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We analyze the challenges to freedom, advocate for greater political rights and civil liberties, and support frontline activists to defend human rights and promote democratic change. Founded in 1941, Freedom House was the first American organization to champion the advancement of freedom globally.
We recognize that freedom is possible only in democratic political environments where governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, and belief, as well as respect for the rights of minorities and women, are guaranteed. More than 2.5 billion people live in countries that Freedom House designates “Not Free,” more than a third of the globe’s population.
Gender Inequality Index
GII is a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market.
Global Terrorism Database
The Global Terrorism Database™ (GTD) is an open-source database including information on terrorist events around the world from 1970 through 2020
Human Development Index
The Human Devlopment Index is a simple unweighted average of a nation’s longevity, education and income and is widely accepted in development discourse.
Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) conducts research on the conditions for peaceful relations between states, groups and people. PRIO makes replication data and datasets from various PRIO projects and publications data publically available.
World Bank Data
Free and open access to global development data
Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI)
The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for over 200 countries and territories over the period 1996–2021, for six dimensions of governance.

Correlates of War Bilateral trade
Provides trade flows between states for the period 1870-2009. The data inlcude information on both bilateral trade flows and total national imports and exports. To access bilateral trade data, choose 'Available data Sets' from Contents, then click 'Bilateral trade (v3.0)'.
International Monetary Fund Data
Provides a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators.
OECD Data
The OECD Data is a database containing hundreds of statistical time series for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and selected non-member counties. It covers broad topics including agriculture, development, education, employment, energy, environment, finance, health, and government.
UN Comtrade
Comtrade provides information and data on international merchandise trade statistics, international trade statistics, and historical statistical data.
UNCTAD Investment Statistics and Trends
The organization maintains the largest global databases on FDI and TNC activities, containing information on more than 200 economies covering a period of 40 years, and has acquired a reputation as the most authoritative international source on FDI/TNC data.
WTO Trade and Tariff Data
The WTO provides quantitative information in relation to economic and trade policy issues. Its data-bases and publications provide access to data on trade flows, tariffs, non-tariff measures (NTMs) and trade in value added.

Polling and Public Opinion

Pew Research Center - Survey Data
Pew Research Center makes its data available to the public for secondary analysis after a period of time.
Pew Global Attitudes
Provides a series of worldwide public opinion surveys that encompasses a broad array of subjects ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day.
Gallup Polls
public opinion polling data and analyses compiled by Gallup, Inc.
Polling Report
An independent, nonpartisan resource
on trends in American public opinion.
World Values Survey
Provides survey data about values and cultural changes in societies all over the world.
General Social Survey
Personal interview survey monitoring social attitudes in the United States. 1972 - present