Research Data and Geographic Information Services Librarian
Brittany Waltemate
She/Her
Contact:
110 Bruno Business Library
(205) 349-1096
Subjects: Geology & Geography, Research Data Services
How to use this guide
This guide is meant to offer a starting place when searching for datasets for analysis. Data sources are roughly categorized by theme, but many include interdisciplinary data. If you can't find the data you are looking for, we recommend checking out another related tab or contacting a librarian. The data on these websites are available either through open data initiatives or through library access.
Remember to properly cite the data source and check for use restrictions and copyright status before publishing your work.
It is impossible to capture all data sources on the internet, so if you know of a great source for data, please let us know so we can share it with others.
Multidisciplinary Data Hubs
- Data.govThe primary data repository for US federally funded research. Pulls from many data repositories covering political history, earth sciences, economics, humanities, and more.
- EurostatThe statistical office of the European Union offers statistics on Europe covering topics on economy and finance, general regional statistics, demographics, agriculture, health indicators and more.
- Economic Commission for Latin America and the CaribbeanData hub for statistics on Latin America and the Caribbean covering demographic, environmental, political, and economic conditions.
- DataPortal.AsiaStarted in 2021, Asia's first official open data portal that houses nearly 200,000 datasets published in partnering countries.
- OpenAFRICAOpen data initiative for governments, NGOs, universities, and researchers to contribute datasets pertaining to Africa's countries.
- World Bank Data CatalogData collected by The World Bank Group including sub-databases focused on microdata, finances, and energy as well as other datasets related to development and wealth distribution.
- DataCite SearchSearchable database of DOIs associated with published datasets. Offers a range of data formats and subjects.
- FAIRsharing.orgA curated data resource focused on providing the FAIR principles on research data.
Search their databases or browse by domain, project, or organization. - re3data.orgGlobal registry of academic research data repositories with the option to search by subject, content type, and country.
- SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new windowFormerly known as SimplyMap, a web-based mapping application that lets users create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using powerful demographic, business, and marketing variables. Custom information can be exported to Excel, PDF, Microsoft Word and more. See "more..." for login instructions.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowStatista is a statistics portal to the world of data and facts from thousands of sources onto a single platform. Categorized into subject sectors, Statista provides patrons with direct access to relevant quantitative facts on finance, media & marketing, politics, telecommunications, sports & recreation and many more areas of interest. Sources of information include market researchers, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases. Statistical data can be downloaded directly into PowerPoint, Excel, and JPG formats.
Can't find the data you're looking for?
Prefer a different contact method?
Try one of these options instead: