Guides: Public Policy Research Guide: Data Resources

Data Resources

There are a wealth of free and DePaul-paid data sets available for analysis. Do not hesitate to ask for help finding the right data for your research project.

City of Chicago Data Portal
Information, statistics, and maps in such areas as health, planning, TIFs, housing, and city-owned buildings.
Access note: Freely available to the public.
Data.gov
Provides descriptions of U.S., State and some municipal datasets (metadata) and information about how to access and download statistical and data sets from open governmental sources.
IPEDS Data Center
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). IPEDS gathers information from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs
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Access note: Freely available to the public.

National Center for Education Statistics This link opens in a new window
The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the US and other nations. Includes links to publications, data and surveys available through NCES.
Access note: Freely available to the public.

NCES Data Tools
Provides a full listing of data archives and download tools available through the National Center for Education Statistics. Includes links to IPEDS and National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data.

National Center for Health Statistics This link opens in a new window
Data on vital events and information on health status, lifestyle and exposure to unhealthy influences; the onset and diagnosis of illness and disability and the use of health care.
Access note: Freely available to the public.

Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality
Clearinghouse on poverty and inequality trends, including crime, labor markets, public opinion, housing, retirement, and health with open source graphing. Graphs can be downloaded into either .pdf or .jpeg, and data into Excel or ASCII files.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Allows you to export data in Excel format and also points you to the specific agencies that produce the data.

How do I find data sets on my topic in ICPSR?

To find data sets in ICPSR, search by keywords, title, principal investigator, or study number, or browse the Thematic Collections:

Aging
Criminal Justice
Demographic Data
Education
International
Instructional Data
Race and Ethnicity
Terrorism

Click here to access FAQs on finding, downloading and citing data collections.