Research Guides: SOWK 546: The Science of Social Work: Demographics, Data & Statistics for Social Work

Finding, Using and Managing Data

Data Reference Toolkit
by Andy Rutkowski Last Updated Jan 11, 2024 299 views this year

Statistics & Data
by Eimmy Solis Last Updated Mar 26, 2024 1436 views this year

Finding Statistics and Data

Data is the raw information that is analyzed to create statistics, or interpreted data. Data can be numerical, or qualitative (interviews, opinion data, etc).

SAGE Data This link opens in a new window
Sage Data (formerly Data-Planet) is an interactive database that allows users to create tables, maps, and figures from a variety data sources covering banking, criminal justice, education,energy, food and agriculture, government, health, housing and construction,industry and commerce, labor and employment, natural resources and environment, income, cost of living, stocks, transportation, and more.
Data holdings for the United States are significant with some data available at state, county, or local geographies. International data,available at the country level, include population, food and agriculture, labor, trade, and more. Data are organized by subject and source.
ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
An annual summary publication of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
ProQuest Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window
Include a detailed description of a publication's statistical contents and primary bibliographic information like title, date, collation, agency report number (if any), and periodicity.
Whenever possible, the Superintendent of Documents classification number, the Library of Congress card number, the Government Printing Office (GPO) Monthly Catalog entry number, the GPO stock number, and the depository item number are also included. The abstract may also contain two hypertext links - one to the agency's World Wide Web site where the full text of the publication may be viewed and downloaded; the other to the full text on Statistical Universe, where the publication can be viewed, downloaded and accessed section by section or table by table.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista is one of the first statistic portals in the world to integrate data on over 80.000 topics from over 18.000 sources onto a single professional platform and providing companies, business customers, research institutions, and the academic community with direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets.

Roper Center
The Roper Center maintains an archive of public opinion survey data--including the General Social Survey (1972-2008). Allows users to search survey questions or download data directly. Users will need to enter their USC email address to access data.
National Council on Disabilility
NCD is an independent federal agency charged with advising the President, Congress, and other federal agencies regarding policies, programs, practices, and procedures that affect people with disabilities.

International/Global Data and Statistics

International Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
Pan American Health Organization
PAHO is the specialized international health agency for the Americas. It works with countries throughout the region to improve and protect people's health
UNICEF Statistics
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Statistics
Provides data on international trade, national accounts, energy, industry, environment and demographic and social statistics gathered from national and international sources.
World Health Organization
WHO's annual World Health Statistics reports present the most recent health statistics for the WHO Member States.

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), established in 1962, is an integral part of the infrastructure of social science research.
ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction.
Passport This link opens in a new window
The Passport/GMID (Global Market Information Database) by Euromonitor provides a wide range of consumer market and industry information in more than 80 countries around the world.
It includes company profiles, some with SWOT analysis, country briefings, sector briefings, sector data, industry watch articles and detailed Consumer Lifestyle reports.

Finding Community Demographics

U.S. Census Bureau Data
The Census Bureau is the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. You have two options to start your search on the landing page of data.census.gov: a free-form single search bar or an advanced search filtering experience.
Census Data Tutorials
These tutorials are from the U.S. Census Bureau and will help with navigating the new database.
Homelessness Data
These raw data sets contain Point-in-Time (PIT) estimates and national PIT estimates of homelessness as well as national estimates of homelessness by state and estimates of chronic homelessness from 2007 - 2019
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.

SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new window
A web-based mapping, analytics, and data visualization application with 100,000+ data variables, including: demographic data from the US Census and American Community Survey (ACS), consumer spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), and D&B's Points-of-Interest business file providing access to over 5 million US business profiles. Includes MRI-SimmonsLOCAL consumer behavior dataset, which includes data on over 8,000 brands, 450 categories, and the MOSAIC consumer lifestyle segmentation system. Data is available down to the Census Block Group level.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Visually display demographic data in the U.S. from 1790-present at a variety of geographic levels. Create reports, maps and animations that can be downloaded.

View the videos below for more info on how to use social explorer.

Open and Free Data

CHHS Open Data
California Health and Human Services (CHHS) Open Data Portal
Data.gov
Data.gov is the homepage for the U.S. Government's open data. You will find Federal, state, and local data.
HealthData.gov
This information includes clinical care provider quality information, nationwide health service provider directories, databases of the latest medical and scientific knowledge, consumer product data, community health performance information, government spending data.
Journal of Open Psychology Data
The Journal of Open Psychology Data (JOPD) features peer reviewed data papers describing psychology datasets with high reuse potential. Data papers may describe data from unpublished work, including replication research, or from papers published previously in a traditional journal.
Kids Count Data Center
Annie E. Casey Foundation database including over 100 indicators of child well-being, including economic status, health, safety, and risk factors on the local community, city, state, and national level.
Los Angeles Open Data
A portal to find information, insights and analysis from the city of Los Angeles.
openICPSR
openICPSR provides a place for researchers to archive, store and share their data. All data included in OpenICPSR is free for public use and primarily focuses on behavioral health and social sciences.

Los Angeles and California

RAND State Statistics (current) This link opens in a new window

California Department of Education, Data and Statistics
Data and statistics collected from California schools and learning support resources to identify trends and educational needs and to measure performance
California Department of Rehabilitation
The California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) is an employment and independent living resource for people with disabilities.
California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Data Portal
California Department of Social Services (CDSS)
Healthy City
Healthycity.org is an online platform for accessing data, creating maps, and working collaboratively. It allows users to theme and filter data, conduct research, and connect with their communities. From the Advancement Project California.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
Know Your Community: LA City
The City of Los Angeles hub for information, data, and resources.