Library Guides: Political Science: Data and Statistics

Crunching Your Data

Once you have your data, you'll probably want to perform different statistical tests on that data. You might use programs like SPSS or Stata to run tests like Chi Square, t-tests, or regression analysis. Interpreting these results can be confusing, to say the least. The link below can help guide you through the basics of those tests and interpreting their outputs.

Interpreting SPSS Outputs
From ICPSR, one of the largest social science data repositories, this guide makes interpreting SPSS tests really easy.

Domestic

Data and Statistics are usually divided into two categories: Data sets that have not yet been analyzed (raw data), and statistical tables (charts, graphs) based on data sets. The following resources are focused on domestic data and statistics.

Census Data This link opens in a new window
Find popular facts (population, income, etc.) about communities, counties and states.

American National Election Studies (ANES)
Data on voting, public opinion, and political participation.

Sage Data This link opens in a new window
Hundreds of public domain datasets and proprietary datafiles.

General Social Survey (GSS)
Individual-level repeated cross section and panel data on demographic, behavioral and attitudinal indicators.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) This link opens in a new window
Perhaps the most popular repository for social science data. Political scientists will often deposit their datasets here.
National consumer study (via Simmons OneView) This link opens in a new window
Includes data from recent Simmons' national consumer studies. Fantastic source for understanding Americans' consumer habits and views by demographic group.
Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Find public opinion polls conducted by ABC News, the AP, Gallup, Pew, NBC News, Eurobarometer, Afrobarometer, and more.
Roper iPoll This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive, up-to-date source for US nationwide public opinion. A full-text retrieval system, the iPoll online database is organized at the question level, providing the tools to sift through nearly a half million questions asked on national public opinion surveys, 1935 to present. Surveys archived in the Roper Catalog were originally gathered by academic, commercial and media survey organizations such as Gallup Organization, Harris Interactive, Pew Research Associates, and many more.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Access to demographic information about the United States, from 1940 to 2000 through interactive demographic maps and reports.

USA.gov - Data and Statistics
This page helpfully collects links to all the major US federal government agencies that provide statistics, all in one place.

International

The following resources are focused on international data and statistics. By no means is this list complete. Mark is open to receiving your suggestions about additional data sources to include here; simply email him at mark.robison@nd.edu.

CEIC Data This link opens in a new window
Database of macroeconomic time series data

Comparative Political Data Set
Comparative country-level data for 36 democracies. Example measures include government composition, frequency of referenda, openness of the economy, and civilian employment.

Cross National Time Series Data Archive
A historical, comparative data set, tracking almost 200 variables for over 200 country units. Access provided by the Libraries and limited to current ND students, faculty and staff.

DataBank World Development Indicators
Data from the World Bank pertaining to economic activity and development, by country. Examples include access to education, access to prenatal care, fishery production, and foreign direct investment.

EIU country reports This link opens in a new window
Forecasts about economic conditions in various countries. Forecasts consider various factors, including political influences, regulatory environment, financial services, credit, energy, and more.

Human Development Reports
From the UN Development Programme. Annual data on development, by country, including measures of equality, education, health, environmental sustainability, and more.

IMF Data (International Monetary Fund) This link opens in a new window
Carries the flagship International Financial Statistics (IFS) database with exchange rates, balance of payments, money supply, total imports and exports, GDP, etc. Also with Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS), Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS), Government Finance Statistics (GFS), and foreign investment and financial soundness indicators.
International Historical Statistics (ebook) This link opens in a new window
Collection of statistical data from around the world, covering a wide range of socioeconomic topics. Provides key economic and social indicators for 1750-2010.
OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
Provides economic stats.
Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Find public opinion polls conducted by ABC News, the AP, Gallup, Pew, NBC News, Eurobarometer, Afrobarometer, and more.

PRS International Country Risk Guide
Comparative measures of 147 countries, covering the period 1984 to 2022. Measures include government stability, socioeconomic conditions, corruption, military in politics, and more.
Quality of Governance (QOG) Institute Data
Provides large, comparative dataset, including such variables as measurements of corruption, performance of democratic institutions, state fragility, public services, political rights, bribery, and rule of law.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
UN data on education, literacy, science, technology, culture and communication, by country.
United Nations Data
The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) launched a new internet based data service for the global user community. It brings UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point (http://data.un.org/). Users can now search and download a variety of statistical resources of the UN system.
UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia (UCDP database)
Uppsala Conflict Data Program
World Christian Database
The World Christian Database provides comprehensive statistical information on world religions, Christian denominations, and people groups.
World Fact Book
Maps of the major world regions and other information.

World religion database This link opens in a new window
The World Religion Database (WRD) contains detailed statistics on religious affiliation for every country of the world. It provides source material, including censuses and surveys, as well as best estimates for every religion to offer a definitive picture of international religious demography. It offers best estimates at multiple dates for each of the world’s religions for the period 1900 to 2050.

World Values Survey
The World Values Survey (www.worldvaluessurvey.org) is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life. ... The WVS seeks to help scientists and policy makers understand changes in the beliefs, values and motivations of people throughout the world.