Subject Guides: Data: Find

Sources for Datasets

Frequently Used Dataset Sources

Data Planet (SAGE) This link opens in a new window Find, visualize, and download datasets on a variety of topics

Data.gov Portal to access open data from the United States government, covers a wide variety of topics.
Google Dataset Search Find a broad range of downloadable datasets from across the web.

HathiTrust This link opens in a new window Create research sets of digitized works for text mining and analysis.

Internet Archive More than 30 million scanned books available, each with accompanying text files in multiple formats.
Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.

ProQuest TDM Studio Visualization Dashboard This link opens in a new window Create an account using your BYU email address to visualize textual data from major news sources.

Qualitative Data Repository Find reusable survey, interview, and other data on a variety of topics
State of Utah Open Data Data from the state government on a variety of topics including the arts, economy, education, environment, transportation, and more.

Frequently Used Statistics Sources

Statista This link opens in a new window An aggregator of statistics on almost any topic.
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window The authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States.

Search Strategies

Government Websites: use a Google domain search (e.g. site:.gov) to limit results to government sources, which are an abundant source for data.

Country Websites: for international data search country specific websites using a Google domain search (e.g. site:.gov.uk).

Professional Organizations, Non-profits, or Research Groups: often these types of groups have a special interest in gathering and sharing data. Try adding terms to your search like "association", "profession", "advocacy", "non-profit", or "research".

Articles: look for where articles or reports on your topic obtained data. Is the data is available for free or purchase, or would it need to be collected on your own?

Browse: find what is available and refine your topic idea by looking through available data in a large repository like UN Data or Library Databases with Data.

Try out these strategies in the Practice box.

What to Look For

Search Features: many data repositories have a large number of datasets. Look for options like a search bar, data locator, or catalog to help you find what you need.

Download Options: look for tabs, headings, and buttons that indicate you can download or export the data to work with on your own.

Format: make sure that data is in a format compatible with your preferred analysis program. CSV is a recommended format that can be used with many applications.

Documentation and Codebooks: repositories should include information about how the data was collected and what each variable means. This information is valuable in maintaining accuracy as you clean and analyze data.

Sponsoring Organization: check that the source or distributor of the data is reputable and reliable.

Updates: find out when the data and website were last updated to determine currency and relevance.

Practice

Search in Google using the example searches below or adjust with your own topic keywords.

educational attainment data site:.gov

health data site:.gob.mx

road construction association data

Search library databases for data on your topic or try one of the searches below. Within a database, browse or search for datasets.

political data

GIS data

Data Collection Tools

BYU provides students and faculty with Qualtrics accounts and access to online training materials.