Research Resources:
Subject Research Guides:
Social Work:
Statistics and Data
Comprehensive Sources
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Online
Also available in print
ALEXANDER, LSM: DOCUS C 3.134; CAMDEN, DANA, KILMER: REF HA202 (Latest edition for all locations at Reference Desk.)
A compilation of statistics collected by the federal government that can be used as a gateway to the range of statistical information used by the government.
Statistical Handbook on the Social Safety Net
ALEXANDER: REF HV51.P33 2004
A compilation of statistics on various social programs including social security, unemployment, health services, welfare programs, and women and children within the social safety net. Narrative and data are included with source information. A glossary and detailed index are also provided.
American FactFinder
This is the primary dissemination vehicle for the 2000 Census. Geared more toward public use, the system offers prepackaged data products and user-selected data tables and maps form Census 2000, the 1990 Census of Population and Housing, the 1997 & 2002 Economic Census, and the American Community Survey. The latter program is a "new nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing," and a great deal of data on the state, county and Congressional district level is available.
U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau provides information on the number, geographic distribution, and social and economic characteristics of the population including official estimates of income and poverty. Historical census data is also available.
See also reports from the
Current Population Surveys
that provide narrative and data on social and economic characteristics of the population.
FedStats.gov
This is a gateway to statistics from over 100 Federal agencies. Easy access is provided via agency or topic.
HHS Data Council Gateway to Data and Statistics
This Department of Health and Human Services site includes a datafinder search tool, a meta directory of HHS data resources, and direct links to major surveys and data systems.
DiversityData.org
The DiversityData project identifies metropolitan area indicators of diversity, opportunity, quality of life and health for various racial and ethnic population groups.
The Numeric Data Research Guide
A searchable database provides access to numeric data that is available on the Internet, or via print or CD-ROM collections at Alexander Library.
ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction. Rutgers is a member institution and creating a MyData account will provide access to the datasets. Some of the data is publicly available as are many of the publications. See also the
Special Topic Archives and the
International Data Resource Center.
Here is a
brief tutorial on using this resource.
LexisNexis Statistical
Rutgers Restricted Access
A searchable database that provides easy access to statistics produced by the U.S. government, major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies, and universities.
National Priorities Database
The National Priorities Project's mission is to "make information accessible to people working for social and economic justice." The database contains socio-economic and federal expenditure data along with information about the sources of the data and related links. Users can customize tables, graphs and reports.
OECD.Stat
This is a searchable database that includes data for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and selected non-member countries. In particular, health, social/welfare, education, and gender statistics are available. Select the link at the bottom of the page with the "happy face."
OECD.Stat can also be accessed from the opening page of
SourceOECD Rutgers Restricted Access.
Population Reference Bureau
The Population Reference Bureau is a private, nonprofit organization that gathers, interprets and disseminates information about U.S. and international population trends and their policy implications. The Datafinder offers detailed searching for national and international data on many variables including health, education, environment, employment, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health.
Social Sciences Electronic Data Library
Rutgers Restricted Access
This resource consists of eight topically focused collections of data on American families, disability, drug abuse, aging, child-well being and poverty. A tremendous source for secondary data analysis.
UNdata
UNdata is a multi-disciplinary source containing data from more than 400 statistical series on topics including: education
and learning environment; financial statistics; health, health services, impairment, disabilities, nutrition; households and
families, marital status, fertility; human settlements, housing; social security and welfare services; socio-economic groups
and social mobility; transport; women and men.
World Development Indicators
Rutgers Restricted Access
World Development Indicators is a complete and authoritative collection of statistics on countries,
regions, and economic groupings of the world, as collected and presented by the World Bank.
Data series include extensive economic, demographic, social, environmental, educational,
and cultural indicators.
Here is a
brief tutorial on using this database.
Topic Specific Statistics
Aging/Aged
Children, Youth, Families
Child Poverty-Statistics-Data
Provided by the National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University.
Demographic and policy data wizards allow the user to build custom tables by selecting
variables for one or more states.
State Profiles are also available.
Child Trends DataBank
National trends and research on over 80 indicators of child and youth well-being are available from the databank. The information, including color graphics and tables, is
easy to read.
Child Welfare Statistics -Children's Bureau (ACF)
This page from the Children's Bureau (ACF) contains federal and state adoption, foster care, and child maltreatment statistics and reports. It also includes information on child welfare reporting systems and is an excellent source.
Children Data-U.S. Census Bureau
A number of links to social, demographic and economic information about children.
Childrens Defense Fund
An advocacy group for the well-being of children, this organization provides links to a variety of statistics and data. Many of the publications produced by the Childrens Defense Fund also contain statistics.
ChildStats.gov
This web site offers access to federal and state data on the well-being of children and their families. The annual monitoring report of the Nation's children, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, is found here.
Kids Count Data Book
The Annie E. Casey Foundation produces this excellent annual data book that tracks the status and well-being of U.S. children. The data book can be read online or downloaded (PDF). A focus of the web site is an online database that allows the user to generate graphs, maps, and state-by-state profiles. The entire database can also be downloaded.
CWLA National Data Analysis System (NDAS)
The Child Welfare League of America, in cooperation with the state child welfare agencies, has collected this comprehensive, interactive child welfare database. Pre-defined tables and graphs can be customized by state and data year, and include data sources and notes from the states.
National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect
The NDACAN facilitates the secondary analysis of research data relevant to the study of child abuse and neglect. The Archive maintains numerous databases including the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)
National Survey of America's Families
Part of the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism research project, the NSAF
provides a comprehensive look at the well-being of adults and children in 13 focal states.
In particular, see
National Survey of America's Families Policy Briefs.
New Jersey Child Welfare Statistics and Data
The data is provided by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families and includes DYFS demographics, workforce and caseload data, children's behavioral health data and outcomes data.
National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
The National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), located within ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political
and Social Research) and is funded by the National Institute on Aging. NACDA's mission is to advance research on aging by
helping researchers to profit from the under-exploited potential of a broad range of datasets.
School District Demographics
This website provides access to school district geographic and demographic data useful for describing and analyzing characteristics of school districts, children, and K-12 education.
Criminal Justice and Violence
Health and Mental Health
Access to Health Risk Behavior in the United States: A State-by-State Look at Teens and Adults
ALEXANDER: REF RA776.9.A33 2004
globalhealthfacts.org
Sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), the site provides global data on HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and other diseases. The information can be explored by country or by topic.
Health Insurance Data-U.S. Census Bureau
Kaiser statehealthfacts.org
Provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) this wonderful site provides data on more than 400 different health topics for all 50 states, accessible via an interactive map, by category or by keyword search.
National Center for Health Statistics-FASTATS
An A-Z index to statistics compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics, Center for Disease Control (CDC).
New Jersey Center for Health Statistics
PeriStats
This web page was developed by the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, with support from the New York Academy of Medicine and the National Library of Medicine. "Aggregating maternal and infant health data from 11 government agencies and organizations, PeriStats provides access to statistics on topics such as preterm birth, infant mortality, tobacco use, cesarean section rates, and health insurance coverage." Users can make data comparisons between states, counties, and cities.
Reproductive Health-CDC: Data and Statistics
SAMHDA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive
SAMHDA is an initiative of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the US Department of
Health and Human Services. The goal of the archive is to provide ready access to substance abuse and mental health research
data in a user friendly format. For more information, select the About SAMHDA and Using SAMHDA links. This is a project of
ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Statistics
The Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, provides the
latest national data on alcohol, tobacco, mental health, and drug abuse.
For state level data see this
page.
VitalStats
This website offers users the ability to access and create data tables, charts and maps for over 100 birth and perinatal variables.
WHO Statistical Information System (WHOSIS)
This is a gateway to health and health-related epidemiological and statistical information available from the World Health Organization. Statistics can be accessed by country, topic, and a variety of other categories. A search box is located at the top center of the page.
Immigration/Migration Statistics
Immigration: Data Matters
This publication contains a select collection of resources and website links with accurate, recent data on a number of
immigration-related topics, e.g., illegal immigration, immigrant children, education, immigrants in the labor force,
health, refugees, etc. The guide also includes a helpful explanation of the limitations that various data sources may
contain and provides other useful resources as well as a glossary of commonly used immigration terms. This is a joint
publication of the Population Reference Bureau and the Migration Policy Institute.
Immigration Statistics on the Web
Produced by the Congressional Research Service, this report identifies selected websites that provide general and statistical information on immigration topics. Selected government and organizational website addresses are included.
Trends in International Migration
This publication focuses on OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.
Yearbook of Immigration Statistics-Department of Homeland Security
"The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics is a compendium of tables that provides data on foreign nationals who,
during a fiscal year, were granted lawful permanent residence (i.e., admitted as immigrants or became legal permanent
residents), were admitted into the United States on a temporary basis (e.g., tourists, students, or workers), applied
for asylum or refugee status, or were naturalized. The Yearbook also presents data on immigration law enforcement
actions, including alien apprehensions, removals, and prosecutions."
Housing
Poverty
Access to Poverty in the United States
ALEXANDER: REF HC110.I5A35 2003
Child Poverty-Statistics-Data
Provided by the National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University.
Demographic and policy data wizards allow the user to build custom tables
by selecting variables for one or more states.
State Profiles are also available.
Poverty-U.S. Census Bureau
This page is a gateway to poverty data collected by the Census Bureau, reports, facts about how poverty is measured by the Census Bureau, poverty measurement studies, and microdata files that can be used to create customized tabulations.
Poverty Guidelines, Research and Measurement
There are two slightly different versions of the federal poverty measure. Poverty thresholds are updated each year by the Census Bureau (see link above). Poverty guidelines are the other version of the federal poverty measure and are issued each year in the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services. "The guidelines are a simplification of the poverty thresholds for use for administrative purposes - for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs."
PovertyNET-Data on Poverty and Inequality
The World Bank sponsors this web page. Information on poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis, and on poverty
reduction strategies is provided.
Women
Gender, Institutions, and Development Database via OECD.Stat
This is a searchable database that includes data for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and selected non-member countries. . Select the link at the bottom of the page with the "happy face." Then, from the left-hand menu, select Social and Welfare Statistics, then Gender, and finally, Gender, Institutions, etc. The tables can be customized.OECD.Stat can also be accessed from the opening page of
SourceOECD Rutgers Restricted Access.
GenderStats
GenderStats is an electronic database of gender statistics and indicators designed with user-friendly, menu-driven features. It offers statistical and other data in modules on several subjects.
UNdata
From the Database Coverage area, select Gender Info 2007 or Indicators on Women and Men. The top of this page allows cross-
database searching by keyword.
Women Stats Project
"The WomanStats Project is the most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of women in the world."
