All the resources below offer free, open, trustworthy data and statistics that can be used for research.
Data vs. Statistics:
Data is raw information that requires analysis or interpretation for it to be meaningful and to answer research questions. It is the information that becomes statistics.
Statistics are data that has been interpreted, summarized, and/or processed. They give you quick facts or numbers on a topic.
Conducted since 1972, the GSS tracks trends over time in what Americans think and feel about such issues as civil liberties, crime and punishment, morality, intergroup tolerance, psychological well-being, and confidence in institutions.
80 years of public opinion surveys of Black Americans and how the U.S. public views Black America. This data is available without a Roper Center membership, but to access all of it, email a request to Roper Center Data Services at data-services@ropercenter.org.
The primary source for US criminal justice statistics. Topics include crime, victims of crime, criminal offenders, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
A nonpartisan organization that conducts data-driven social science research such as public opinion polling, media content analysis, and demographic research.
Compiled by the United Nations and other international agencies. Includes data on a wide range of topics, such as crime, education, employment, environment, gender, health, migration, and population. Also includes statistical profiles of countries and regions.
According to their website, they have "the most statistically sound, internationally comparable data on the situation of children and women around the world."
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