Research Guides: Sociology: Find Other Sources

Finding Stats & Research Reports

Other reputable sources besides scholarly articles may be relevant to your research. This page will help you locate reputable resources for statistics and original research published by research foundations and advocacy groups.

Statistics & Public Opinion Surveys

These resources will help you find statistics from surveys on public opinion.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. [PROQUEST] This link opens in a new window
Access the Statistical Abstract of the United States (1970 - present). Search one volume at a time or multiple volumes simultaneously. Charts can be downloaded into Excel for further data manipulation.
The ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political and economic conditions of the United States from 1970 to today.

Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center conducts and publishes surveys and social science research in a number of areas including: media. politics, demographics, culture, and societal attitudes. To view their research search the site by topic or publication name.
Association of Religion Data Archive
This organization compiles statistics and surveys gathered and conducted by others onto one website. The focus of these statistics and surveys is religion and spirituality in the United States.
General Social Survey
Developed by the National Opinion Research Center in 1972 to monitor social change in America, the GSS allows researchers to analyze change in U.S. societal opinions over time. Variables are searchable by keyword or by browsing through its alphabetic list of subjects.
International Social Survey
The ISS bridges the U.S. focused GSS with similar surveys conducted by governments and research firms in the international community. Click on the archive and data link to access the ISS.

ICPSR Bibliography of Data-related Literature This link opens in a new window Continuously-updated database of thousands of citations of works using data held in the ICPSR archive.
Disciplines represented include political science, sociology, demography, economics, history, gerontology, criminal justice, public health, foreign policy, terrorism, health and medical care, early education, education, racial and ethnic minorities, psychology, law, substance abuse and mental health, and more.

Most of the datasets in the ICPSR archive are raw data from surveys, censuses, and administrative records. They were originally gathered in research projects and for administrative purposes. ICPSR preserves them because they have value for "secondary analysis" - that is, reexamining old data to address new questions or to employ new analytic methods.

Research Reports

Use the following resources to locate research written by various think tanks, policy institutions, non-governmental organizations, and research foundations.

IssueLab
Research reports from nonprofit organizations.
Think Tank Search
A custom Google search of institutions that do public policy research, from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Internet Crossroads in Social Science Data
Browse or search for projects and institutions publishing research data and reports in the social sciences.

Google Search Tip
Add site:org filetype:pdf to your keywords to search only PDF files from .org websites, which is how organizations and institutions are likely to publish their research reports.