Finding Datasets and Statistics
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A dataset is any organised collection of data or information that has a common
theme.
The information is usually encoded in a defined structure e.g. lists, tables, and
databases.
Search engines
This search engine for data and statistics locates data in charts, graphs and tables and has
a useful hover over function that lets you view results easily and quickly
http://www.zanran.com
Irish Datasets
An Garda Síochána - http://www.garda.ie/
Includes:
 Road accident statistics and other Garda publications
 Annual reports including regional demographic; crime data/statistics.
 Criminal Assets Bureau statistics.
Central Statistics Office - http://www.cso.ie/statistics/
 Government body responsible for compiling official Irish statistics.
 Provides information on labour market and earnings, people and society, census,
business sectors, environment, climate and the economy.
Corine Land Cover (CLC) - http://coe.epa.ie/safer
 Provides comparable maps of land cover for much of Europe based on the
interpretation of satellite images.
Environmental Research Centre (ERC) - http://www.epa.ie/
 ERC is an in-house EPA research facility gathering and integrating data from
major environmental research projects in co-operation with a number of 3rd level
colleges and institutions.
ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute) - http://www.esri.ie/index.xml
 A leading European research centre in the social sciences focusing on economic
and social change in Ireland.
 Provides information on Ireland in recession, Irish economy, house prices, etc.
 Access is available on request to demographic, clinical and administrative data on
discharges and deaths from the 60 main acute general hospitals using Hospital InPatient Enquiry Scheme (HIPE).
 For analysis of current economic trends, forecasts, GNP, GDP, balance of
payments, etc use Quarterly Economic Commentary
http://www.esri.ie/irish_economy/quarterly_economic_commen/.
 To access the ESRI Databank of Economic Time-Series contact databank@esri.ie.
Irish Social Science Data Archive (ISSDA) - http://www.ucd.ie/issda
 Machine-readable data from surveys and official statistics (including the Census),
made available to users in the academic, public and commercial sectors.
 Provides access to ESRI data including the school leaver survey and other
datasets; ZACAT; Eurobarometer; opinion polls, Irish Elections Data Archive,
time-use statistics, lifestyle/nutrition and more.
 Some material is password protected. Contact ISSDA for more information
http://www.ucd.ie/issda/aboutus/contact/.
European Datasets
Council of European Social Science Data Archives - http://www.nsd.uib.no/cessda/
 National data archives for social science teaching and research in Europe (also
provides links to Australia and USA archives).
ESRC - http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/index.aspx
 Excellent social science research resource providing information on research
funding and training
 The facts and figures section provides up to date summaries of British statistical
information in specific areas, e.g. parenting, ageing, adolescents, ethnic
minorities, media etc.
European Bioinformatics Institute - http://www.ebi.ac.uk/Databases/
This website hosts a number of different biological databases including:
 EMBL nucleotide database, which is Europe's primary collection of nucleotide
sequences.
 PRIDE proteomics identification database.
European Central Bank Statistics - http://www.ecb.int/stats/html/index.en.html
 Covers the Eurozone and compiles money, banking and financial market
statistics.
European Regions Airline Association - http://www.eraa.org/
 Provides monthly traffic analysis on airline passenger traffic, punctuality, freight
and movement data in PDF format.
European Social Survey (ESS) - http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/
 A biennial multi-country survey covering over 30 nations, funded jointly by the
European Commission, European Science Foundation and academic funding
bodies in each participating country.
EUROSTAT - http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home
 The Statistical Office of the European Union.
 Provides high-quality statistical information on the EU Member States.
 Includes information on Eurostat printed and electronic publications.
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Data is charged for but some key indicator snapshots are free to view.
International Energy Agency (IEA) - http://www.iea.org/
 The Energy Statistics Division publishes data on energy production, trade, stocks,
transformation, consumption, prices and taxes and greenhouse gas emissions.
 Includes data from the 28 OECD Member countries and over 100 non-OECD
countries world-wide.
SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) - http://www.shareproject.org/
 Database of micro data on health, socio-economic status and social and family
networks of individuals aged 50+.
 Data contributed by 11 counteries in 2004: Denmark, Sweden, Austria, France,
Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Greece.
 Further data collected 2005-06 for Israel. The Czech Republic; Poland & Ireland
joined SHARE in 2006.
UK Data Archive (UKDA) - http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/
 Contains the largest collection of digital data in the Social Sciences and
Humanities in the U.K.
U.K. National Statistics - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/
 Britain's economy, population and society at national and local level.
 Summaries and detailed data releases are published free of charge.
 Includes GDP, retail sales, public sector, inflation, population, and employment.
International Datasets
Child Care Research - http://www.childcareresearch.org/discover/index.jsp
 Links to data suitable for further analysis and statistical results generated from US
public sources.
CPS Utilites - http://www.unicon.com/
 Contains data, documentation and Windows software to help researchers find and
extract data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey.
 The Historical Series of Annual Supplements includes computer usage, tobacco
usage, outgoing rotations, food security, child support/alimony, immunization etc.
FAO Statistical Databases - http://www.fao.org/waicent/portal/statistics_en.asp
 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations helps developing
countries modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices.
FedStats - http://www.fedstats.gov/
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Acts as a portal to the full range of US Government statistical information
provided by over 100 US agencies.
 Topics include economic and population trends, crime, education, health care,
aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more.
GeoHive Global Statistics - http://www.geohive.com/
 Non commercial site providing comparative information on countries and cities of
the world.
 Charts on population, natural resources, wealth, infrastructure, energy
consumption and resources etc.
ICPSR Datasets - https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ticketlogin
 Maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research
and instruction.
 On campus access only
IMF Statistical Databases - http://www.imfstatistics.org/
 Access to the following International Monetary Fund titles: International
Financial Statistics, Direction of Trade Statistics and Balance of Payments
Statistics.
 Login and password required for off campus access, which can be obtained via
Connect under My Library tab, in the Remote Access logins channel.
International Federation of Data Organisations on the Net - http://www.ifdo.org/
 Provides links to and information about key social science data archives.
 Supported by Unesco.
International Statistical Agency - http://www.bls.gov/bls/other.htm
 Compiled by the US Department of Labor
 Useful starting point for finding further data on specific countries.
OECD - http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx
 Compiles statistical indicators of social and economic life in 28 member
countries.
 It is also possible to browse by topic.
 See also OECD.stat which provides a cross search facility for OECD databases.
http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?usercontext=sourceoecd
UNESCO Institute for Statistics - http:// www.uis.unesco.org/
 Profiles and global datasets on the subjects of education, literacy, culture and
communication, and science and technology, plus reports generated from these
resources.
 Free to download
United Nations Statistics Division - http://www.un.org/en/databases/
 Provides access to a wide range of official statistical outputs and services.
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A limited amount of data is available free of charge e.g. summaries of world
population, health, education, employment, and other social indicators.
United States Census Bureau - http://www.census.gov/
 Summary data files and selected historical data available.
World Development Indicators - http://ddpext.worldbank.org/ext/DDPQQ/member.do?method=getMembers&userid=1&queryId=6
 Data and statistics from the World Bank.
World Health Organisation - http://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/en/
 Key international health statistics.