WMU Research Guides: Geography: Finding data

Data and Statistics

Raw data is a primary source. It is available in its entirety with minimal interventions, for you to analyze and draw conclusions from

A dataset is a collection of organized data. For example, an Excel spreadsheet is a dataset.

Statistics are secondary sources describing data in numerical form, such as with counts, totals, and averages.

See our maps guide to learn how to use the library's maps collection.

Sage Data This link opens in a new window
Provides access to more than 90 billion data points from dozens of licensed and public domain datasets. Scan the contents of the collection, select subjects and variables of interest, and view your data in side-by-side tables and charts. Results are instantaneous and can be easily exported.

Google Dataset Search
Google helps make large datasets available through this specialized search engine. Your keywords will be searched in thousands of repositories across the Web.

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to and archives of social science data. Areas of research range from crime, to economic indicators, to consumer behavior, and health information. Members of the Western Michigan community are eligible to access and download the data. When accessing certain data, users will be asked to either break out of the proxy and log in with their Google or Facebook account, or remain inside the proxy and create/log in with a MyData account here.

Data in Brief
Data in Brief is a multidisciplinary, open access, peer-reviewed journal, which publishes short, digestible articles that describe and provide access to research data.

Data.gov
The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the U.S. government. This link is to the catalog of datasets.

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Create maps and reports using current and historical census data and demographic information to better illustrate, analyze and understand demography and social change.
This subscription is limited to three simultaneous users. Please log out when finished.
Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States, with some international content. It is also used as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. Each table will identify the original agency that produced the data. Use the agency web link to find additional information on your topic. Coverage varies. Coverage is from 2013-present.

National Transportation Data Archive
The National Transportation Data Archive (NTDA) is intended to preserve and provide access to high-value, discrete datasets, created or aggregated the by Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). The NTDA also seeks to preserve other transportation research or statistical data sets, created by non-US DOT entities, within the borders of the United States, its territories, and possessions.

UNdata
Large searchable index to much of the datasets and statistics produced by the United Nations agencies.
World Bank Data Site
This site provides access to WorldBank datasets. Data displayed on this site are a subset of those available in the World Bank’s DataBank.
CIA World Factbook
"The World Factbook provides information on the history, people and society, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities"

Statista This link opens in a new window
Search for user-friendly statistical tables and infographics on more than 80,000 topics drawn from over 22,500 sources, covering market and consumer data and many more areas of interest. Sources of information include market researchers, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases.

To browse tourism statistics: