New statistical databases

Doing quantitative research?  Need statistics for a research project, paper, or to provide context for a project?  Looking for a needle-in-a-haystack?  Try these new statistical databases from the Libraries!

Statista logo

Statista provides statistics on a wide range of topics, including industries, markets, demography, countries & economies.  It harvests data from market researchers, trade associations, scientific publications, and government sources, and compiles it in a central place for you to search.  Download data in tabular or graphical form and link to original data sources and related reports.  Find statistics such as:

  • Global market share held by the leading smartphone operating systems in sales to end users from 1st quarter 2009 to 4th quarter 2012
  • Percentage of U.S. population who has (or ever had) cancer, 1999-2011, by age
  • U.S. organic food sales growth forecast from 2010 to 2014
  • Monthly unemployment rate in the U.S. from January 2012 to January 2013 (seasonally-adjusted)
  • and more…

Access Statista at: //libraries.mit.edu/get/statista.

Govistics logo

Researching local areas in the United States?  Govistics provides spending, revenue, employment and crime data for state and local governments and school districts across the U.S., pulling together data from different sources.  Find data such as the following for the City of Cambridge:

  • Government spending and number of employees in all areas, including social services, education, and public safety
  • Number of violent and property crimes
  • Investment portfolio of the city’s retirement system, with data on membership and contributions
  • and more…

Access Govistics at: //libraries.mit.edu/get/govistics.

Statistical Abstract logo

Need data on your research topic but have no idea who collects it?  Try the Statistical Abstract of the United States!  This online reference source provides summary statistical tables of everything under the sun, and detailed citations to the original source for you to find more detailed data.  Search not only by subject but also filter your results to those available at certain demographic (e.g., age, sex, race, education, marital status), geographic (e.g., state, smsa), and economic (e.g., industry, occupation) breakdowns.  Find data such as:

  • Nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases in private industry by type of injury or illness and days away from work: 2010
  • Coastline counties most frequently hit by hurricanes: 1960 To 2008
  • Municipal solid waste generation, materials recovery, combustion with energy recovery, and discards: 1980 to 2010
  • Research and development expenditures in science and engineering at universities and colleges: 2000 to 2010

Access the Statistical Abstract at: //libraries.mit.edu/get/stat-abstract.

Want further information on statistics and data resources?  Try Social Science Data Services or other data resources listed on our subject-oriented research guides.