Peacebuilding After Mass Violence (INAF 6549): Data & Statistics
Social Sciences & Policy Librarian
Guiding Questions to Help Find Data
Before you begin to search for your data, work through these questions and note your answers. They will help you in your search. Consider the Data & Statistics for Journalists Research Guide for more information.
- Do you already know this data exists?
- For instance, if you found it referenced in a newspaper or other article, note the citation, or any related information like who collected the data and when. You may be able to use this to find the original data source--even if it takes a little detective work with your friendly librarian!
- Do you need raw data or statistics?
- What geography level do you need? (country, state, city, neighborhood, etc.)
- Are there time constraints (a range of years, monthly, quarterly, annually)?
- What is the unit of analysis?
- Are you comparing individuals or groups?
- Do you need microdata or macrodata?
- What is the topic or subject?
- Think about who might collect this data, and for what purpose (collectors of data include: government agencies, nonprofits, NGOs, businesses, and academic researchers).
- Do you need demographic data (characteristics that define a population, such as: gender, age, ethnicity, language, housing, employment)?
- Do you know what kind of analysis you want to perform on your data?
- Are you interested in creating maps (using spatial data)?
- What software will you use? Where can you get training and help? Can you download this software and/or use it on campus?
Data & Statistics Sources
Available data sources are extensive, so this is not a comprehensive list. Use the guiding questions above to find relevant resources. For further assistance, contact Ben Chiewphasa, Social Sciences & Policy Librarian, at bbc2129@columbia.edu.
- China data online = Zhongguo shu ju zai xian. This link opens in a new windowComprehensive online database focusing on economic statistics of China, arranged by regions and categories. Includes monthly and yearly reports on China's macroeconomic development, statistical databases about China's population and economy at the provincial, county, and city level, and financial indicators of more than 568 industrial branches. Also includes statistical yearbooks, census data, industrial and marketing surveys, and an atlas of China.
- CountryWatch forecast This link opens in a new windowA globally integrated 5-year macroeconomic forecast for each country of the world, including concise economic overviews complementing forecast tables and graphs, 5-years of historical data on key macroeconomic variables, and an interface that allows one to change forecast input assumptions to create customized country forecast scenarios.
- EMIS This link opens in a new windowFull-text news, financial and economic information on emerging market countries in Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe, East, South and Southeast Asia, Southeast Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus, Africa and Middle East.
- FAOSTAT / Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This link opens in a new windowFAOSTAT consists of an integrated core database and satellite databases feeding and supporting it. These cover areas such as agricultural production, consumption, trade, prices and resources. The current core of FAOSTAT contains a full matrix of integrated and compatible statistics coverage of 200 countries, 15 years, and more than 200 primary products and input items related to production, trade, resources, consumption and prices. Naturally, the construction of an integrated database requires filtering, aggregating and transforming the detailed source databases to a common denominator.
- Global Terrorism DatabaseManaged by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), the Global Terrorism Database™ includes more than 190,000 terrorist attacks dating back to 1970
- The Humanitarian Data ExchangeThe Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) is an open platform for sharing data across crises and organisations. Launched in July 2014, the goal of HDX is to make humanitarian data easy to find and use for analysis. HDX is managed by OCHA's Centre for Humanitarian Data, which is located in The Hague. OCHA is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies.
- IMF eLibrary This link opens in a new windowThe IMF eLibrary offers direct access to IMF's periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. The topics covered include macroeconomics, globalization, development, trade and aid, technical assistance, demographics, emerging markets, policy advice, and poverty reduction.
- Security Council ReportSCR’s mission is to advance the transparency and effectiveness of the UN Security Council. We seek to achieve this by making available timely, balanced, high-quality information about the activities of the Council and its subsidiary bodies; by convening stakeholders to deepen the analysis of issues before the Council and its working methods and performance; by encouraging engagement of the Council with all member states and civil society; and by building capacity on Council practice and procedure through assisting incoming members and other training and assistance programmes. SCR is independent and impartial; it advocates transparency but does not take positions on the issues before the Council.
- UNdata This link opens in a new windowStatistical time series for countries from around the world covering a wide range of economic and socio-demographic topics. Descriptions of the international sources and definitions used in compiling the data are included.
- World databank / The World Bank Group. This link opens in a new windowA complilation of a number of World Bank data products, the most significant one being World development indicators (WDI).
