CMU LibGuides: 99-520 Consulting for the Public Good: Influencing Behavior and Belief: Data and Statistics

Google Dataset Search

Try Google's dataset search. Search the web for datasets on any topic.

Mapping Tools

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Visual and numerical presentation of U.S. census data and a wide range of demographic information, 1790 – present. Creates maps and reports at levels from national to block group.
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
A U.S. national data and mapping tool and analytics platform with multidisciplinary applications. Useful for social sciences, urban studies, real estate and housing analysis, community and economic development, public administration, public health, policy and political science, education, business, economics, statistics, and geography, among others. Includes thousands of U.S. data indicators for demographic and socioeconomic analysis, from a neighborhood census block group in many cases, up to a national level.

Data 101 Resource Guide

Data 101

The Data 101 Resource Guide provides an overview of library support and resources related to using, finding, visualizing and managing your data throughout the research process.

Public Opinion and Polling

The Roper Center Public Opinion Research Archive
The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is one of the world’s leading archives of social science data, specializing in data from public opinion surveys. Click here for a quick link to Roper's questions and data on leisure activities.
Pew Global Attitudes Project Key Indicators Database
Pew Research Center conducts public opinion surveys around the world on a broad array of subjects ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day. This site offers online data analysis and raw data download.
Pew Internet & American Life
"The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the internet and how their activities affect their lives."

Health Poll Database This link opens in a new window
The Health Poll Database includes over 70,000 polling and survey questions on a broad range of topics, from disease prevention and health care access to social determinants of health, such as experiences of discrimination or availability of quality childcare. Curated trends allow users to track public opinion on a variety of health subjects over time. The database is open to all with limited question views per month, but for access to unlimited content sign into your Roper iPoll account.

The Gallup Organization
The Gallup site contains polling results from 1997 to the present. These reports include a summary, the questions asked, and the results for specific questions.

Finding market and demographic data

Statista This link opens in a new window
Market, industry, company, and demographic statistics, data-centered reports and dossiers, fully downloadable, various formats, international, easy-to-use.

Includes access to the Consumer Insights (formerly Global Consumer Survey, a resource that offers global consumption and media usage data of consumers. A great market research tool for consumer behavior and interactions with brands. Select the Insights > Explore Consumer Insights within Statista.
EASI Analytics This link opens in a new window
Consumer demographics database within Sage Data (formerly DataPlanet) - select it from "Browse by Subject" on left, then choose the latest "EASI Market Planner." Has Consumer Expenditures, Behavior, Spending Analytics, Media Use and more - all with geographical breakdowns.
Sage Data This link opens in a new window
Interdisciplinary datasets with mapping, graphing, and report-generating capability. Includes tons of datasets for business, industry, labor, energy, population, income, health, politics, and more.
Insider Intelligence This link opens in a new window
New platform includes access to eMarketer content and Business Insider Intelligence content. eMarketer offers data and insights to the digital media consumer market. It focuses on understanding how consumers spend their time and money online and how marketers can best communicate with them via digital channels. Industries covered include automotive, consumer products, financial services, healthcare, telecom and media and entertainment.

More market research resources ...

United States Statistics

US Census Data Portal
This is the main portal to the data and statistics collected by the US Census Bureau. Includes voluminous demographic data on the U.S. from national to zip code level.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.
Data.gov
The US government's open data portal. Provides a one-stop location for searching data from across US government agencies and branches.
Population Reference Bureau
PRB provides instant summaries, both graphically and in text, of the demographic features of the U.S. population. Data can be customized by users on such topics as population estimates and projections, race and ethnicity, migration, income and poverty, the elderly population, and more. The data also may be downloaded.

RAND State Statistics This link opens in a new window
RAND State Statistics includes a collection of more than 200 socioeconomic databases that cover all 50 U.S. states. Databases contain an average of 20 years of data and cover topics including Births, Medicare, Median Household Income, Population by Multi-race/Ethnicity and Age Group, and Local Government Finances.

CDC Coronavirus Website
The US Center for Disease Control's website for coronavirus resources, news, patient information and more.

Local and Regional Data

Western PA Regional Data Center
"The Data Center maintains Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh’s open data portal, and provides a number of services to data publishers and users. The Data Center also hosts datasets from these and other public sector agencies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations."
Allegheny County Analytics
Provided by the Allegheny Country Dept of Human Services, this portal provides data sets, publications, visualizations and more to support data analytics for topics related to populations and services in Allegheny County.
Allegheny County GIS Open Data
For spatial data sets related to Allegheny County, including a broad range of topic areas from health and social services to business and the environment.
Open Data Pennsylvania
The state of Pennsylvania's open data portal. Provides access to data at the state and county level across a broad range of topics.