Research Guides: Data & Statistics: Data Best Bets

Federal Government Data Availability (updated 10/22/25)

The government shutdown, which began on Oct 1, is now over. However, even before the government shutdown, the Trump Administration had removed a large quantity of environmental, health, and demographic data from federal government websites.

A list of alternative sources can be found HERE. If you are unable to find federal government data you need or are aware of alternative sources of such data, please contact Peter Rogers, progers2@providence.edu , 401-865-2580, Head of Research & Education.

Data Best Bets

ICPSR
Archive of data resources from research in the social and behavioral sciences, including 21 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.
IPUMS
Repository of census and survey data collected from sources around the world. Includes social, economic, health, geographic, and education data.
Harvard Dataverse
Open to self-deposit by anyone which can make it rather confusing.
Data-PASS Shared Catalog
Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences shared catalog to simultaneously search all members' data repositories.
Data.gov
The U.S. government's official portal for open data. Provides access to data from numerous federal agencies in open, machine-readable formats, as well as tools and resources to help utilize them.
UNdata
Google-like search of United Nations system and links to country-specific data.
World Bank Open Data
Generally national-level, international development data.
Google Dataset Search
A new tool from Google that searches multiple data sources. However, it does include a large number of results where one has to pay for data, so use with care.
Health Poll Database
Dates: 1930s - Present
Public opinion statistics and data on health issues.

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Federal Government Data Availability (updated 10/22/25)

Data Best Bets