STATISTICAL SOURCES
DEMOGRAPHICS and POPULATION Behavior and Activities

Find numbers, quantities, data, and facts for a wide range of topics, typically by geographic area; by country, state, or region. The statistics are mostly for the US, some for Massachusetts, and a little about the world; for example, census data, population profiles, income, labor, employment, housing, education, crime and traffic. Data ranges from the general to the specific. Much of the information comes from census data. Some of the topics include urban cost of living, consumer price index, population profiles, housing, transportation, health care, and crime.

This guide contains both print and online resources group by format and subject.

  Books | Searching for Books |  Periodicals | Searching for Articles
  Web Resources 

Links under Web Resources:

Web Portals | General Sources | Housing | Education
 Poverty | Labor | Health | Crime | Prisons | Traffic | Compare Cities

BOOKS

GENERAL REFERENCE BOOKS

Statistical abstract of the United States, prepared by the chief of the Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department
Desk Ref. HA202 2003

Statistical yearbook. Annuaire statistique. United Nations. Statistical Office. United Nations
Ref. HA12.5 .U63 2000

State and metropolitan area data book. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
Ref. HA202 .S84 v. 1997/98

Presents a wide variety of statistical information on States and metropolitan areas in the United States. Offers data from many statistical publications and electronic sources, both government and private. Includes source notes and explanations and a subject index.

Finding statistics online: how to locate the elusive numbers you need, Paula Berinstein; edited by Susanne Bjørner. (1999 printing)
Ref. HA33.5 .B47 1998

Author's web site: Business Statistics on the Web Links
http://www.berinsteinresearch.com/stats.htm

Massachusetts Statistics

Historical atlas of Massachusetts, edited by Richard W. Wilkie and Jack Tager
Ref. G1230 .H5 1991

Massachusetts municipal profiles
Ref. HA431 .M37 2004

BUSINESS & LABOR

US General
Handbook of U.S. labor statistics : employment, earnings, prices, productivity, and other labor data.
Ref. HD8051 .A63 2004

Occupational outlook handbook.
Desk Ref. HD8051 .A62 2004/05

Employment, hours, and earnings, United States, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Ref. HD5723 .E5 1988/96

Business statistics of the United States
Ref. HC101 .A13122  2004

Massachusetts
County Business Pattern, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
Ref. HC107 .M3  1998

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seARCHING FOR BOOKS IN THE MWCC CATALOG

Library of Congress Subject Headings
Possible Library of Congress Subject Headings to use when searching for books in the catalog. (They can also be used as keywords.)

Statistics -- Periodicals.
United States -- Emigration and immigration -- Statistics -- Periodicals.
United States -- Statistics -- Computer network resources.
Statistics -- Computer network resources.
Housing -- New England -- Statistics.
New England -- Census, 1990.
New England -- Population -- Statistics.

KEYWORD SEARCH TERMS

average costs
living expenses
consumer expenditures
prices paid
basic needs
cost of living index, (COI)
consumer price index, (CPI)
city demographics

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PERIODICALS

A partial list of electronic-access journals from MWCC's databases:

Journal of Applied Statistics
1994 to present (Embargo: 6 months)
Subject: Mathematics, Computer Science

Journal of biopharmaceutical statistics
1999 to present (Embargo: 12 months)
Subject: Pharmacy & Materia Medica

Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, A Publication of the American Statistical Association
1983 to present
Subject: Economic Theory. Demography

Limitations of U.S. Statistics on Abortion
1997 to present
Subject: Sociology: The Family. Marriage. Woman

Monthly Labor Review,  U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
1965 to present
Subject: Economic History and Conditions

Oil, Gas, Coal and Electricity - Quarterly Statistics
2002 to present
Subject: Economic History and Conditions

Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics
1973 to present (Embargo: 12 months)
Subject: Economic History and Conditions (by Region or Country)

Quarterly Labour Force Statistics
2002 to present
Subject: Economic History and Conditions

Retail trade, Department of Trade and Commerce, Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Merchandising and Services Section,
2001 to present
Subject: Commerce

The Review of Economics and Statistics
1965 to present (Embargo: 12 months)
Subject: Statistics

Review of Economics and Statistics
2002 to present
Subject: Statistics

Statistics: A Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics
2002 to present (Embargo: 12 months)
Subject: Mathematics, Computer Science

Statistics of Income. SOI Bulletin
2000 to present
Subject: Public Finance

U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics
2001 to present
Subject: Adolescent

Understanding Statistics
2002 to present (Embargo: 12 months)
Subject: Statistics

United States Statistics on Trade in Services
1992 to present
Subject: Trade

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SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES
Find relevant articles using keyword searches in online databases appropriate for your topic. Keyword searching returns article citations, with many linking directly to the full-text of the article. The following groups of MWCC subject related online databases are an excellent place to search for specific articles.

Business
http://www.mwcc.edu/Html/Library/subpages/oncampussubj.html#business

General
http://www.mwcc.edu/Html/Library/subpages/oncampussubj.html#general

Health/Nursing
http://www.mwcc.edu/Html/Library/subpages/oncampussubj.html#health

Newspaper
http://www.mwcc.edu/Html/Library/subpages/oncampussubj.html#newspapers

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STATISTICAL RESOURCES ON THE WEB

Web Portals | General Sources | Housing | Education
 Poverty | Labor | Health | Crime | Prisons | Traffic | Compare Cities

WEB PORTALS
Web sites of web sites

Federal Statistics
http://www.fedstats.gov

University of Michigan's Document Center
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html

Portal site of links to statistical data developed and categorized by the University of Michigan's Document Center. Subjects include cost of living, agriculture, military, environment, finance, housing, politics, weather, and more.

UMASS
http://www.library.umass.edu/subject/anthro/data.html

UMASS Government documents
http://www.library.umass.edu/govdocs/index.html

Demographics/Statistics
http://www.kpl.gov/OnlineResources/ResourceCategory.aspx?id=335

Kalamazoo Public Library's list of web links that feature information about census data, genealogical resources, and demographics.

O'Keefe Library, St. Ambrose University
http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Online/statistic.htm

A good list of web resources.

GENERAL SOURCES

US Census bureau
http://www.census.gov/

US Census Bureau, American Factfinder
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en

Need statistics on housing, employment, population, economic, or geography? This site is comprised of U.S. statistical census population data as well as maps, tables, reports, and other data.

Statistical Abstract of the US
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/

Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://stats.bls.gov/

Presents current population survey data. Interface software (dataferret) is used to extract and display the data sets.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Indexes
http://bls.gov/cpi/home.htm

Consumer price indexes are available for the U.S., the four Census regions, size of city, cross-classifications of regions and size-classes, and for 26 local areas. Includes indexes for major groups of consumer expenditures.

World Factbook
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Provides national-level information on countries, territories, and dependencies including national statistics, national flags, maps, political composites, economic data, demographics and much more.

United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN)
http://www.un.org/popin/

United States Historical Census Data Browser for Census data between 1790 and 1970. You can choose and simultaneously browse up to 15 variables.

County City Data Book
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/ccdb/

Includes 1988, 1994, 2000. Choose your state, choose data by state, city or county level, select data type, and how you want the data organized and delivered.

Massachusetts Institute for a new Commonwealth (MassINC.)
http://www.massinc.org

The mission of MassINC is to develop a public agenda for Massachusetts that promotes the growth and vitality of the middle class. Public reports are available, for example, Graying of America or State of the American Dream.

ACCRA
http://www.coli.org/Compare.asp

Pay for view of participating city to city cost comparisons: Grocery, Housing, Utilities, Transportation, Health, Misc., Avg. Rent., Avg. Home costs.

ERsys Synergos Technologies, Inc
http://www.ersys.com

From the ERsys home page: "Using maps, charts, reports, and relevant links, ERsys covers over 2600 U.S. cities with detailed information on demographics, environmental factors, economic indicators, housing statistics, media schools, transportation, [and] local contacts. Easy to use, this site was designed for people who are preparing to move or travel or who are working in site analysis and selection or real estate."

Nation Master
http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php

NationMaster.com is a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, United Nations, World Health Organization, World Bank, World Resources Institute, UNESCO, UNICEF and OECD. You can generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics with ease.

HOUSING

National Housing Institute
http://www.nhi.org/

NHI examines the key issues affecting affordable housing and community development practitioners and their supporters. These issues include housing, jobs, safety, and education, with an emphasis on housing and economic development, as well as poverty and racism, disinvestment and lack of employment, and breakdown of the social fabric.

HOUSING PATTERNS
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/resseg.html

EDUCATION

National Center for Education Statistics NCES
http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/

This site "is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the U.S. and other nations," and has statistical information and reports about various aspects of education at all levels in the United States.

Provides full-text access to its major statistical reference publications: The Digest of Education Statistics , the Projection of Education Data, and The Condition of Education, Postsecondary Education Data (IPEDS), Information on Public Schools and School Districts in the United States; College Opportunities On-Line (COOL,) which can be used for searching and comparing colleges; and The Nation's Report Card, a national assessment of educational progress.

For example:
              http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/dt380.asp

POVERTY

World Bank
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,
menuPK:336998~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:336992,00.html

Facts from The World Bank. A web site that provides information resources for people working to understand and alleviate poverty. The site includes a thorough overview of the problem of poverty, its causes, data, research studies, list of relevant organizations, and much more.

PovertyUSA
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/

Statistical Resources on the Web Cost-of-Living
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/steccpi.html

LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics
www.bls.census.gov

Current Population Survey
http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/

The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the U.S. population.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (Consumer Price Index)
http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Has the Consumer price indexes for the U.S., the four Census regions, cities, cross-classifications of regions and size-classes, and for 26 local areas. Includes indexes for major groups of consumer expenditures.

HEALTH

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

Publishes current and historical data compiled from birth and death records, medical records, interview surveys, physical exams and laboratory testing.

CRIME

Uniform Crime Reports
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/crime/

County data. A web site that provides statistical information about criminal activity. Data is compiled by state counties.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

The Bureau of Justice Statistics site features quantitative data covering the following areas: crime and victims, criminal offenders, law enforcement, courts, sentencing, corrections, and special topics.

Crime in the United States
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

The Uniform Crime Report from the FBI. Includes hate crime reports as well. PDF Acrobat files.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board
http://www.mass.gov/sorb/

PRISONS

Bureau of Prisons
www.bop.gov/

Statistical data on federal prison populations by gender, race, ethnicity, age and other demographic information.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm

2,085,620 prisoners were held in Federal or State prisons or in local jails. Profile of Nonviolent Offenders exiting State Prisons, 05/02.

HIGHWAYS, ROADS, TRAFFIC, and ACCIDENTS

US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/summary95/

Provides a Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, including a general historical summary of information dealing with highways, their use, and their financing.

WHO | World Health Day 2004: road safety
www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/en/

The World Health Organization and the World Bank have jointly produced the World report on road traffic injury prevention. Full text.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
http://www.hwysafety.org/safety_facts/state_laws/state_laws.htm

State laws on DUI, child restraints, seatbelts, speed limits, helmet laws, etc.

COMPARE TWO CITIES

Cost of Living: Worldwide
http://www.finfacts.com/costofliving.htm

Monstermoving .com
http://www.monstermoving.monster.com/Find_a_Place/Compare2Cities/

This side-by-side city comparison tool displays economic factors such as cost of living, taxes, home cost, insurance costs and quality of life factors such as population, crime, weather and education.

Homestore.com
http://www.homestore.com/Move/Tools/CityReports.asp?poe=homestore

BestPlaces.net
http://www.bestplaces.net/city/ccompare.aspx

Salary.com
http://swz.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

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