Use the resources on this page if you are looking for raw data to download into a statistical software package (e.g. SAS, SPSS, Stata) and manipulate to suit your needs. From most of the sources on this page, you can also download user-created tables into Excel. If you are looking for pre-defined (or summary) data already formatted into a table, and perhaps downloadable into Excel, please see the Statistics research guide.

If you are looking for data in a specific subject area that is not covered here, visit our Statistics by Country or Statistics by Topic pages . Note however, that those pages do not contain sources for raw data.

Historical Statistics of the United States - U.S. statistics from over 1000 sources; all tables downloadable as .csv and .xls; create customized tables and spreadsheets. Mostly national, not much state data.

International Financial Statistics [IMF]- itemized financial data from 1948 for more than 200 countries. Data can be downloaded in Excel, tabbed text, etc. Guide to searching the IFS Online.

SourceOECD Statistics- Create your own tables by working through a series of menus. You select the variables, countries, and time period. Variables are mostly economic, but include some agriculture, education, migration, and health. Resulting tables can be downloaded as Excel files (.xls) or comma delimited ascii files (.csv). Some older data may be missing, depending on the year and country selected. Note that Wellesley only has a subscription to the OECD databases, not the IEA data.

UNData (UNSTATS) - 450+ statistical series from international data sources. Economic, social, financial and development topics. 1945+ . Click on "definitions" for a description of the series (variable). See UNdata - a photoset on Flickr for screenshots showing how it works.

World Development Indicators [World Bank]- Includes more than 500 time series indicators for 207 countries plus regional and income groups; retrieves and exports the data in popular spreadsheet formats. 1960+ . Guide to searching the WDI [from Emory University].

Wellesley owns a number of CD-ROMs that contain data; a few are already loaded on a computer, but most are not. Many CDs are supplied by the federal government. At the Clapp Library, non-loaded CDs are housed in the metal cabinets in the reference area to the right of the reference room on the 2nd floor. These CDs contain data in the following subject areas:

• education (filed under Docs LB)
• federal decennial census, 1990 and 2000 (filed under Docs HA 201)
• health (filed under Docs RA)
• justice (filed under Docs HV)
• trade (filed under Docs HD)

To find them in the Wellesley Library catalog, choose a keyword search, type * in the search box, and limit by location Clapp Docs CD-ROM. In the specific catalog records, look for the terms "data sets" and "codebook". If a record mentions Adobe Acrobat Reader, then the files on this CD are .pdf files and the data will not be downloadable. You may also do a keyword search for a particular topic and limit by location Clapp Docs CD-ROM. Note that some of the CD-ROMs may not run on Windows XP.

The specific titles listed below are loaded on the CD-ROM computer in the Clapp Reference room.

Balance of Payments Statistics [IMF]. Print yearbooks are at Clapp Docs HF 1014 I6

Direction of Trade Statistics [IMF]. (1948+) mounted on the CD-ROM computer in the Clapp reference room. Statistics on the value of imports from and exports to a country's most important trading partners. Print yearbooks are at Clapp Docs HF 91 I652.

Global Development Finance [World Bank] - Complete data on the external debt and international capital flows of developing countries; more than 200 time-series indicators for 138 countries plus regional and income groups from 1970+. Some print issues at Clapp Docs HJ8899 .W672

Government Finance Statistics [IMF] - 2 CDs cover 1970 to the present. Annual data on revenue income by source (tax, lending, bonds, etc), and expenditure by sector (defence, education, health, etc) for all levels of government (national, state, local). Data are in local currencies. Selected print issues at Clapp Docs HJ101 .G68

Comprehensive Sources

data.gov - access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Search through their catalog, note their data policy, and view a tutorial.

Murray Research Archive at Harvard University - use requires an Application for the Use of Data.

Wellesley is a member of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). ICPSR maintains and provides access to an archive of social science data, as well as several special topic archives. Find data by using the search engine or browse the topics list. A thesaurus is also available. Most data can be downloaded directly from any campus computer, although some data is only available via CD-ROM. CD-ROMs are in the Wellesley College Library catalog; search by study title. If we do not have the CD-ROM, contact Megan Adams to request the data.

ICPSR is commited to educating users about using data in research. There is a Data Use Tutorial available on the Web site. Each summer, various classes, open to Wellesley faculty, staff, and students, are offered through the Summer Program in Quantitative Methods at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Site for Instructional Materials and Information provides instructional datasets, as well as exercises for classroom use, information about useful Web sites, and related publications.

For more information about ICPSR, contact Megan Adams, Official Representative to ICPSR.

American Community Survey - The American Community has replaced the decennial census long form. You can access and download data in Excel through American Factfinder, or by downloading the raw data files.

Decennial Census

The questions asked on the census forms can vary from census to census, making it very difficult to compare the same variable across censuses.

Census 2000 via American Factfinder - Look under "Data Sets" (in the blue bar on the left). You can also access Census 2000 data through ICPSR
     Summary File 1 = 100% short form data; age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, own or rent, household relationship, etc.
     Summary File 2 = same as above, except much more detailed race or ethnic groups.
     Summary File 3 = sample data from the long form; education, occupation, ancestry, detailed housing, etc.
     Summary File 4 = same as above, except much more detailed race or ethnic groups.

Steps for using American Factfinder:

1. Choose the summary file you want based on the information listed above, then choose detailed tables.
2. Choose your geography. Note that towns in New England are listed under "County Subdivision" not place.
3. Choose your variable(s). You can scroll through the list of all variables or search by keyword.
4. If you are in Summary Files 2 or 4, you can then choose an ethnic group or ancestry.

• Use the glossary to help you understand the definition of the variable. The Census Bureau uses very precise terminology. For example, family vs household, or the definition of the labor force.
• Census 2000 Questionnaires
• Use 1% and 5% Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files to download raw data from the census forms and combine variables in a way the Census Bureau has not done.

1990 Census from American Factfinder - Under "Data Sets" choose Decennial Census and then the 1990 Census file you want.

Economic Censuses

In addition to the online resources, Wellesley owns CD-ROMS from the 1992 and 1997 Economic Censuses. We also have a print run of the Economic Census from 1948 - 1992 at Docs HD 9506 - 9724 and Docs HF 3007.

Census of Agriculture

In addition to the online resources, Wellesley owns CD-ROMS from the 1992, and 1997 Census of Agriculture. We also have a print run of the Census of Agriculture from 1925 - 1992 at Docs HD 1753.

Economics

National Bureau of Economic Research Data Page Note "NBER Links" for more data sources.
Penn World Tables - data on about 30 variables for about 167 countries over some or all the years 1950-98.
Consumer Expenditure Survey Series - also available through ICPSR  WC campus

Education - visit the National Center of Education Statistics for survey descriptions. Major surveys are:

Common Core of Data (CCD), also available through ICPSR WC campus
High School and Beyond (HS&B), also available through ICPSR WC campus
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Series
International Archive of Education Data (through ICPSR) WC campus
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) (through ICPSR)
National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), also available through ICPSR WC campus
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), also available through ICPSR WC campus

Elections

American National Election Study (ANES) Series WC campus
Campaign Expenditures in the United States Series WC campus

Environment

Water Data [Pacific Institute] - some tables available as .csv files

Finance

New York Stock Exchange Data Library - tables can be copied and pasted into Excel. Note Conditions of Use.
Yahoo Finance - use this to find historical stock prices. Search by ticker symbol.

Health - visit the National Center for Health Statistics for survey descriptions. Major surveys are:

Health and Medical Care Archive WC campus
Healthy People 2010
Longitudinal Studies of Aging
National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging WC campus
National Health Care Survey
National Health Interview Survey, also available through ICPSR WC campus
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive WC campus

Housing

American Housing Survey, also available through ICPSR WC campus
HUD User - data sets from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Income

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), also available through ICPSR WC campus
Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD)
World Income Inequality Database - presents data on changes in income inequality over the period 1950-98.

Justice/Crime - visit the Bureau of Justice Statistics for crime and justice data online.

Juvenile Court Statistics available via ICPSR 1982-1997 WC campus
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data WC campus
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), also available through ICPSR WC campus
Uniform Crime Reports
United Nations World Crime Survey - data from 1970 -1994 as zipped files. Also available in ascii, Lotus, and SPSS.

Labor

Current Population Survey (CPS) - joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, several pieces also available through ICPSR
National Longitudinal Surveys - labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of men and women.

Military

World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers [Trade] Series  WC campus

Polls

Polling the Nations
Roper iPOLL Databank
ABC News/Washington Post Poll Series WC campus
CBS News/New York Times Poll Series WC campus
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
European Commission Public Opinion Analysis
International Policy Attitudes and their key indicators interactive database
Public Agenda
WorldPublicOpinion.org
ACRL guide to public opinion poll Web sites (from 2006 - links may not work)

Religion

American Religion Data Archive

Social

European Social Survey - interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. You must register to download data.
General Social Survey Series - individual files available through ICPSR WC campus
International Social Survey Program Series - Data available from the Central Archive for Empirical Social Research and on CD-ROM via ICPSR.
Pew Global Attitudes Survey
World Values Survey - world's most comprehensive investigation of political and sociocultural change.

Women

WomanSTATS - [Brigham Young University] - qualitative and quantitative information on over 260 indicators of women's status in 174 countries. First time users must register. Use the codebook to define the variable.

GIS Data

geodata.gov - federal resources for finding and using geographic data
National Geospatial Program

State Data Centers - a partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau. You may be able to get state or local data from the respective State Data Center in a form that is not compiled/produced by the Census Bureau.

UK Data Archive

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