Stephens Library

Accessing and Protecting Data

While certain information has been removed, or is in danger of being removed from government sites (such as the CDC or NIH), there is also a coordinated effort among data organizations to protect, collect, and manage these data resources. Below, you’ll see a collection of these sources and data hubs where information can be found. 

Existing Alternative Data Sources

  • ICPSR DataLumos: A crowd-sourced repository for US federal government data.

    • Includes data from FEMA, the Department of Education, and IMLS.

  • Federal Reserve Economic Data: An online database consisting of hundreds of thousands of economic data time series (as well as some demographic information) from national, international, public, and private sources. It is maintained by the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

  • Census Reporter: A free, open-source platform focused on making American Community Survey (ACS) data more accessible.

  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: hosts copies of immunization schedules and contraceptive use guidance from the CDC.

  • America’s Health Rankings: a health assessment tool based on state-level health indicators.

  • Congressional District Health Dashboard: pulls together local data on the health and well-being for each congressional district. 

  • Healthy Regions & Policies (HeRoP) Lab (via the U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) contains preserved data sets and guidance from:

    • The Center for Disease Control (CDC)

    • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

    • The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Fact Checking Websites

  • Snopes: The oldest and largest fact-checking site online, widely regarded by journalists, folklorists, and readers as an invaluable research companion. Snopes is a member of IFCN and in compliance with the International Fact Checking Network's highest standards of combating misinformation online.

  • PolitiFact: Started in 2007 as an election-year project of the Tampa Bay Times (then named the St. Petersburg Times), Florida’s largest daily newspaper. PolitiFact is run by the editors and journalists.

  • DocsTeach: A product of the National Archives education division.

Data Portals

  • DataPortals.org: A comprehensive list of open data portals from around the world.

  • GSS Data Explorer: Helps researchers, students, and journalists monitor and explain trends in American behaviors, demographics, and opinions.

  • United States Census: The nation's leading provider of quality data about its people and economy 

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: The principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System.

  • Data USA: Puts public US Government data in your hands. Instead of searching through multiple data sources that are often incomplete and difficult to access, our platform provides an open, easy-to-use platform that turns data into knowledge.

  • Harvard Dataverse: a free data repository open to all researchers from any discipline, both inside and outside of the Harvard community, where you can share, archive, cite, access, and explore research data.

Other Suggestions