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Sociology Resources

Learn about resources for sociology research

What are statistics and data?

variety of media types represented by a smartphoneWhen doing research in sociology, you may find it helpful to refer to data or statistics to support your arguments or provide you with more context. But what exactly are data and statistics? To start, it's important to note that these terms mean different things and are not meant to be used interchangeably. While data can be considered unique pieces of information that can be analyzed, statistics are often the result of doing that analysis to answer questions of "why" or "how."

To learn more about data and how to find it, check out our Finding Data research guide.

You can also watch the following video learn more about different types of data and how they might be used:

 

Video Transcript

U.S. Statistics and Data Sets

These resources link you to a variety of data and statistical information about the United States and include criminal justice, environmental, census, jobs, and import/export information. These are just a starting point for finding relevant data and statistics for sociological research, so be sure to check out the Finding Data research guide for more resources.