LibGuides: Data & Statistics: Data & Statistics Sources

Google Dataset Search (Beta)

Google Dataset Search (Beta)
Conduct searching for datasets online using this tool from Google. Search for datasets stored on the web by keyword.

Software on Campus

Research Software (Academic Technology Center)
A list of research software and its availability on campus provided by the Academic Technology Center.

Labs on Campus

Reference & Research Help Fall 2023

Reference & Research Help Contact Information
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Research Guides

Research Guides are resources created by Bentley Librarians to guide you through research. These guides will contain a map of best bet resources of where to find information and search tips to make the research process easier. A research guide may include a list of relevant databases to search in, suggested search terms, recommended book titles, lists of websites, and more. Browse our list of Research Guides to see if one has been created for your class, a subject area, or a topic you are researching.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bentley Librarians keep a database of some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (and answers!) by the Bentley Community. Browse our FAQs to see if your question has already been answered!

Welcome

This research guide aims to be a list of potential Data & Statistics Sources where you can begin your research. This list is not comprehensive, but hopes to offer a starting point in beginning to track down data that might be useful for your research. Use the Table of Contents to jump to specific subject areas within this guide, however you should start by reviewing the resources listed under "General Sources".

Here are some additional ideas of places that you can look to find data:

National and International Government websites
- Consider what departments of government might be concerned with your research area and visit those sites.
Not-for-profits and Other Organizations
- Do you know of an organization that focuses on your subject area? A lot of organizations make their research available through their website.
College and University Institutional Repositories
- Institutional Repositories can go under many names, but copies of data might be made available on the institution's repository. If you're having trouble locating if the institution has one, check their library's website.

As with any source of information, whether it be a book, article, or other item, it is always important to evaluate the source - check where your data was sourced and any methodologies provided.

Contact a librarian for assistance in locating other potential data sources.

General Sources

Academic Torrents
Torrent site created to share papers and datasets (especially to help facilitate large dataset delivery) created by researchers from the University of Massachusetts.
Data.gov
Open data from the United States federal government. Can search and browse by topics including climate, education, energy, health, and more to find and download datasets.
ICPSR: Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research
Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides downloadable data on a number of different topics related to the social sciences including economic behavior, education, health care, governments, organizational behavior, and more. Note: Some datasets are only available to member institutions and Bentley is not a member. To see if a set is publicly available to you, check the "Access Notes" for the dataset.

International Statistical Agencies (U.S. Census) This link opens in a new window
Compiled by the U.S. Census, International Statistical Agencies provides links to the official statistical agencies for countries of the world (note: some sites may not provide content in English). Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the full list of countries. Free resource.

OECD Data
Data made available from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with topics including economics, energy, education, health, innovation & technology, and government among others. Create your own queries using the OECD database OECD.Stat (Available without a subscription).

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista is a portal for quantitative data, statistics and related information. Use the search box to find information of interest, or choose from dropdowns providing access to information about industries, digital markets, consumer markets, and topics such as media, business, and society. Statistics, charts and/or graphs may be downloaded in the following formats: Excel, PNG Graphics, PowerPoint and PDF.
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
The Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. The site provides data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations.
U.S. Census Data This link opens in a new window
The U.S. Census provides demographic and economic data from the following surveys and censuses: American Community Survey, County Business Patterns, Decennial Census, Economic Census, and others. Free resource.
United Nations Data This link opens in a new window
United Nations Data contains official statistics, estimates and projections produced by countries and compiled by the United Nations. Domains covered are agriculture, crime, education, energy, industry, labor, national accounts, population and tourism. You can also find indicators such as Millennium Development Goals. Free resource.
World Development Indicators (WDI) This link opens in a new window
World Development Indicators is a compilation of internationally comparable statistical metrics related to global development and the fight against poverty. The database contains time series indicators for more than 200 countries and over 40 country groups. Data for many indicators spans more than 50 years.

World Bank Open Data
Freely available, open access data portal from The World Bank. Also provides access to World Development Indicators. You can also search using the Open Data Catalog.
Data USA
Provides public U.S. government data and visualization resources. A joint project between the MIT Collective Learning Group (part of the MIT Media Lab), Deloitte, and Datawheel.
Eurostat
Portal to data from the European Commission covering a variety of themes.
Open Data Network
The Open Data Network allows users to search freely available data from various government organizations. Data may be available at the national, state, county, or city level. Users can browse data by topic or geographical region. Can view data or obtain APIs.

CountryData Online (CDO, PRS Group) This link opens in a new window
CountryData Online (CDO, PRS Group) offers political, economic, financial, and social data back to 1984 (in most cases) for over 140 countries. Updated monthly, CDO also includes risk ratings from International Country Risk Guide, as well as forecasts and geographic data from Political Risk Services.

Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Not-for-profit that provides population information and data on topics related to demographics, the environment, and health on both the U.S. and internationally.

Web of Science (Core Collection) This link opens in a new window
Web of Science (Core Collection) provides citations for scholarly articles from over 20,000 worldwide journals (including Open Access journals) in over 250 science, social sciences, and humanities disciplines. Though this database does not contain the full text of articles, many citations include abstracts. Access to the InCites module is not part of the Bentley subscription. Users with individual accounts need to search at least once every six months to keep the account active.

Discover research data sets and data studies from a wide range of international data repositories in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Discover research data connected to articles published in journals, books, and conference proceedings.
Link directly to data repositories for easy access to the deposited data sets.

Business, Economics & Finance

IHS Connect This link opens in a new window
IHS Connect provides continuously updated analysis of global business conditions and economic information. Proprietary reports and ratings assess country, banking and sovereign risk. Interactive maps, charts, and graphs present data on specific geographies. Users can build, save, export, and share status and time series reports and charts from a variety of datasets. Use MyConnect to set email notifications, set custom search alerts, and save content for later viewing. First time users should visit the IHS Connect Registration Guide to register for an account using a Bentley email address.

FRED Economic Data
Economic data made available by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Euromonitor Passport GMID This link opens in a new window
The Euromonitor Passport Global Market Information Database provides business intelligence on selected Industries, Countries & Consumers, Companies, and Geographies, and comprehensive tools for analysis across datasets. Each category includes in-depth reports, analyst comments, statistics and external sources. New reports, analyses and comments are added daily, while industry reports are updated annually. Historical and forecasted date coverage varies by country, within a broad range of 1977 to five-year projections. Users will have to fill out a short registration form the first time they access Euromonitor. Faculty & Staff members please list your department under "Course".

Macroeconomics Datasets from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has data on the following: Inflation & Prices, Employment, Unemployment, Pay & Benefits, Spending & Time Use, Productivity, Workplace Injuries, International, and Employment Projections
IMF Data
Data made available from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a range of topics including global finance and trade.
Tax Statistics (IRS)
Variety of statistics and reports provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Includes information on business tax statistics, individual tax statistics, and non-profit statistics.

Trading Room

The Trading Room has additional sources of information which can provide data. To find out more about the Trading Room offerings and their hours of operation see:

Trading Room

Consumers & Demographics

Consumer Expenditure Survey This link opens in a new window
The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) provides information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and household characteristics. The survey data are collected for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. Free resource.
Euromonitor Passport GMID This link opens in a new window
The Euromonitor Passport Global Market Information Database provides business intelligence on selected Industries, Countries & Consumers, Companies, and Geographies, and comprehensive tools for analysis across datasets. Each category includes in-depth reports, analyst comments, statistics and external sources. New reports, analyses and comments are added daily, while industry reports are updated annually. Historical and forecasted date coverage varies by country, within a broad range of 1977 to five-year projections. Users will have to fill out a short registration form the first time they access Euromonitor. Faculty & Staff members please list your department under "Course".
MRI Simmons Insights - 20 user limit This link opens in a new window
MRI-Simmons Insights provides access to consumer demographic, psychographic, brand preference, and media data from the Simmons National Consumer Survey. Customizable demographic profile and crosstab reports reveal relationships between purchasing behavior and consumer demographics, interests, and preferences. This database is limited to 20 simultaneous users. Learn more about how to use MRI-Simmons Insights by visiting our MRI-Simmons Insights: How-To Guide.
SRDS: Standard Rate and Data Service This link opens in a new window
SRDS provides directories, current advertising rates and market analysis for domestic and international media types including print, digital, broadcast, newspaper and direct marketing via Advertising Source; datasets and analyses related to demographics, consumer behavior and market segmentation via Local Market Audience Analyst; and tools for media campaign planning.
U.S. Census Data This link opens in a new window
The U.S. Census provides demographic and economic data from the following surveys and censuses: American Community Survey, County Business Patterns, Decennial Census, Economic Census, and others. Free resource.

Education

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
A part of the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics is responsible for collecting data and statistics related to education in the United States. Find various surveys the center conducts broken down by category on the Survey and Program Areas page. Some surveys of interest may include the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (AAAL), Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), and School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) among others.
Digest of Education Statistics
Compilation of education statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Environment

DataRefuge
Archive of federal climate and environment data launched in November 2016.
Environmental Dataset Gateway (EPA)
The Environmental Protection Agency's open data portal. Search here for statistics related to climate change and environmental justice.
European Environment Agency
European environmental data provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA), a part of the European Union.

Health

Healthdata.gov
United States health data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Can browse by topic, specific agencies, and format.
WHO: Global Health Observatory (GHO) data
The World Health Organization's Global Health Observatory (GHO) provides data and statistics related to various health indicators across the globe.
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Data Sets
Available from the CDC website, data from various surveys conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) are included.
Data Discovery at the National Library of Medicine
Datasets from some National Library of Medicine (NLM) resources. Some main topics of coverage include environmental health data and drugs and supplements.

Public Opinion

American National Election Studies (ANES)
Explores and studies voting and public opinion in the United States. Data from the studies conducted is available. ANES is affiliated with Stanford University and the University of Michigan.
Pew Research Center Datasets
Pew Research Center releases datasets from surveys the research organization conducts. This article "How to access Pew Research Center survey data" explains the process of downloading datasets from the site. Downloads are free, but account creation is required.