Data and Statistics

Datasets are collections of data on which you can perform your own analysis. All the datasets listed here are free or available to WKU faculty, staff, and students. Most can be downloaded in a variety of formats and some offer online data visualization tools. 

1. Think about who might collect the data.

• Could it have been collected by a government agency?
• A nonprofit/nongovernmental organization?
• A private business or industry group?
• Academic researchers?

2. Look for publications that cite the dataset

• e.g. scholarly articles or government reports.

3. Once you know that what you want exists, it's time to hunt it down.

• Is it freely available on the web? Check Google—you never know!
• Or part of a package to which the library already subscribes?
• Can it be requested directly from the researcher? There’s a reason articles usually include author contact information.