Research Guides: Public Policy Research at Emory: Indicators and Statistics

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Statistical Abstract of the United States (Current and Historical)
was a publication of the United States Census Bureau, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Published annually from 1878 to 2011, the statistics described social and economic conditions in the United States. A commercial company, ProQuest took over production of the compendium. (Most) tables can be downloaded in .xls format. Key suggestion is to read the front matter and introductions to each of the sections, as these provide distinct and detailed explanations in terms of how certain indicators are reported and measured (and whether there are notable changes).
Social Explorer
Social Explorer provides quick and easy access to current and historical census data and demographic information. Its contents include the entire U.S. Census from 1790 to 2010, annual updates from the American Community Survey, data on religious congregations for the United States for 2009 and 2010, decennial religious congregation data for 1980-2010, and carbon emissions data for 2002. Users can create reports and maps at various levels of geography, including counties, Census tracts, Census block groups, and ZIP codes, depending on data availability. Congressional districts and state legislative districts breakdowns are available for more recent years. A "first batch" of 2020 census content is now included.
Current Population Survey
The Current Population Survey is a joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. The CPS is a monthly survey that collects basic socio-demographic information, labor force characteristics, and economic status. To access CPS data files, users can download the data from an FTP site or use various tools for creating tables from the microdata. Alternately, they can go to the National Bureau of Economic Research's CPS site or to IPUMS-CPS.
OECDiLibrary
Access the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's books, papers, studies, periodicals, and statistics. Great comparative data on economic and social trends, policies and developments across OECD member states. Data is easily downloadable, and significant analysis available.
Historical Statistics of the United States (Millenial Edition)
Contains quantitative indicators of American history. Topics range from migration and health to crime and the Confederate States of America. Data can be downloaded in Excel or CSV, printed, or graphed. IMPORTANT: review introductory contextual essays that may provide insights into the development of various indicators and measures.
IPUMS
The IPUMS project at the University of Minnesota is an excellent source for Census data in the form of microdata samples from each decennial Census from 1850-2000 and from the American Community Survey for 2001 and onwards. See https://usa.ipums.org/usa/sampdesc.shtml for a list of the samples available via IPUMS. The data include standardized/harmonized variables for topics such as industry, occupation, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment, for easier comparisons of data over time. The microdata come with geographic tools and boundary files, to assist with geographic analyses of the individual-level data. IPUMS-USA is one of many IPUMS efforts - see https://www.ipums.org/ for the full list.

Simply Analytics (formerly SimplyMap) This link opens in a new window
This new Standard Data Package has 10x the number of data variables, including all data variables from the American Community Survey (2010 to 2018), with 2019 and 2020 estimates and 2025 projections. This package also contains Consumer Expenditure data, ZIP and County Business Patterns data, Uniform Crime Reports data, and detailed weather data from NOAA.

Statistical Agencies

Bureau of Economic Analysis
U.S. government agency that provides official macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States and its various units—states, cities/towns/townships/villages/counties, and metropolitan areas. They also provide information about personal income, corporate profits, and government spending in their National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs). Also produces a significant number of research papers.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
NASS conducts hundreds of surveys and issues nearly 500 national reports each year on issues including agricultural production, economics, demographics and the environment.
National Center for Education Statistics
Principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, which provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the public health. Significant number of data tools for accessing health related indicators, as well as visualizing your results.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Provides data and reports on employment and earnings/income.

Data Resources Support at Emory

Social Indicators Sources (Broken down by sub-area)
Support for locating and working with datasets, statistical information, and geographic data.

Guide to Sources of Statistics, State Statistical Abstracts and Foreign Statistical Abstracts
Appendix from the Statistical Abstract of the United States

Citing Census Data (Borrowed from University of Pittsburgh)

Reference Sources and Tips

Frumkin's guide to Economic Indicators

Guidelines for Working with Small Area Data

Statistical Considerations

Please consider the following when reviewing and working with data in public policy, which is often essential for making the case for a policy intervention, and for assessing/evaluating its efficacy in meeting a particular goal.

What is the indicator or data actually measuring? How is it operationalizing a more abstract concept?
At what level of disaggregation is the data being measured? At what level is it available?
Has the measurement of the indicator or concept changed over time? If so, what is the impact of these changes on longitudinal studies? Notate the differences over time and the implications?
Who (agency, organization, etc) serve as the source of the data? Are there any biases in measurement or selection of data in the study?