Look within a data archive that collects within the general subject area that you are searching for.
Ask yourself: Who might collect and publish this type of data?
Then visit the organization’s website and see if you're right! Or, search for them as an author in the library catalog.
These are some of the main types of data producers:
Government Agencies
The government collects data to aid in policy decisions and is the largest producer of data overall. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Election Commission, Federal Highway Administration and many other agencies collect and publish data. To better understand the structure of government agencies read the U.S. Government Manual and browse FedStats. Government data is free and publicly available, but may require access through library resources or special requests.
Non-Government Organizations
Many independent non-commercial and nonprofit organizations collect and publish data that supports their social platform. For example, the International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Health Organization, and many others collect and publish data. For more information about NGOs, visit these free NGO data sites:
Allows browsing aid data by donor, country, sector, and other criteria.
Under the "Membership" link in the left side menu bar is a list of member organizations.
A comprehensive listing of over 53,000 development organizations, arranged by country and covering all world regions.
On the home page, click on "find" and then "organizations." This takes you to a page for searching NGOs all over the world.
The "NGO Bungee Jumps" link in the left side menu takes you to a list of links to NGO indices and resources.
This page allows you to search worldwide listing of organizations by area of activity, country of activity, and primary language of the organization, as well as by keyword.
An alphabetical listing of "think tanks" (non-profit research institutes) and NGOs around the world, with links.
A directory of NGOs which have consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC). Can be searched by field of activity, ECOSOC category, or organization name.
Navigate to the "Worldwide NGO Directory," which is organized by region.
Provides fully searchable profiles and contact information of the NGOs affiliated with UNESCO.
Academic Institutions
Academic research projects funded by public and private foundations create a wealth of data. For example, the Michigan State of the State Survey, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, American National Election Studies, and many other research projects collect and publish data. Much of this type of data is free and publicly available, but may require access through library resources. Access to smaller original research projects may be dependent upon contacting individual researchers.
Private Sector
Commercial firms collect and publish data as a paid service to clients or to sell broadly. Examples include marketing firms, pollsters, trade organizations, and business information. This information is almost always is fee-based and may not always be available for public release.
Search for research studies based on secondary analysis of publicly available data sets.
Unfortunately, citation of research data is often incomplete. Sometimes the best you will get is the title of the data set used, but check to see if the data or a related publication are cited and follow it up. Don't commit this fallacy when you publish, cite your data.
Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography
Knowing when to call in reinforcements is important.
