LibGuides: Political Science: Government and NGO Resources

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The U.S. Government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) generate vast amounts of statistical, demographic, economic, trade, county, and country data that can help with research in subjects such as business, marketing, advertising, economics, sociology, and science. While it is not comprehensive, this guide presents some of these resources as good starting point for your research. We hope that it will help you discover something new.

Intergovernmental Organizations

FEOSTAT: The Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nation's Statistical Database
Statistics on international agricultural production, food balances, food prices, and much more.
FEOSTAT Statistical Year Books
Download the current FAOSTAT Statistical Pocket Book to find data on interntional agriculture, demographics, and food security.
International Monetary Fund
IMF "is an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world."
Legislationline
Access documents and legislation on international human rights. Maintained by Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), which includes the US.
UNdata
Statistics on agriculture, crime, education, energy, industry, labour, national accounts, population and tourism from the United Nations.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Demographic and socio-economic statistics from the UN's Educational, Scienctific, and Cultural Organization.
United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (COMTRADE)
Access global trade data: annual statistics from 1962 and annual from 2010. The Visualize Data section is user-friendly and fun way to understand this information.
United Nations Statistical Databases
Presents various data for countries of the world from the 1960s onwards.
World DataBank
For the period 1960 onwards, you can get data for individual countries or the world on a variety of topics.
World Development Indicators Online
World Bank's downloadable collection of current national, regional, and gloval development data.

U.S. Government

Census Quick Facts
QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more.
BusinessUSA
This inter-agency, one-stop platform makes it easy for researchers to access business information.
CDC's Obesity Prevalence Maps
shows prevalence of obesity across states and territories by race/ethnicity.
County Health Rankings (CHR)
Rankings, reports, and other measures of the health of nearly all US counties.
Data USA
Creates visualizations of data on the economy, demographics, health, education, and housing for any county, city, metro, and state in the U.S.
DocsTeach
Meant for K-12 teachers, this site on the NARA website does a great job of effectively organizing many important primary sources.
Every CRS Report
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides non-partisan reports and analyses of issues.
Health.gov 2010 Dietary Guidelines
A publication of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These guidelines provide evidence-based food and beverage recommendations.
Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL)
National Agricultural Library's Historical Dietary Guidance Digital Collection
More than 100 years of dietary advice from the USDA.
National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.
National Institute of Health's Medline Plus
Information on nutrition, wellness, drugs, supplements and other aspects of health and disease.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Manual
Replacing the Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC) in 1997, NAICS classifies business for statistical data and analysis.
Nutrition.gov
Government information on food, nutrition, food safety, and physical activity.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Dietary Guidelines
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have jointly published the Dietary Guidelines every 5 years since 1980. These reports can provide insight about why the popularity of certain foods varies over the years.
SBA.gov
A comprehensive gateway to small business resources and documents. Managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Science.gov
Gateway to scientific web sites as well as a search engine for government science information and research results. Maintained by a consortium of U.S. federal agencies.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
This system classifies industries by 4 - digit code. It predates the NAICS, but this system persists in some US government departments and agencies.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.
U.S.Census's USA Trade Online
Current and historic export, import and population data compiled by the U.S. Census.
U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts this survey yearly to help determine how federal and state funds are distributed each year.
U.S. Department of Commerce
Wide-ranging information from the federal department including the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Economics & Statistics Administration, Economic Development Administration, and more.
U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis Interactive Data
Access national, international, regional, and industry statistics; and personal income and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates.
U.S. Government Publishing Office MetaLib
A federated search engine that searches across the databases of many U.S. government agencies.
US Census Data
population, housing, economic, and geographic data from the US Census Bureau.
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service's Data and Analysis
Consult these FAS databases and reports for news and data that effect international trade, distribution, and agriculture.
USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service Commodities and Products
Data, news, and analysis on commodities such as soybeans, corn, and coffee in the international market.
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service
Provides timely, accurate, and useful statistics about U.S. agriculture.
USDA Economic Research Service
gathers data to "inform and enhance public and private decision making on economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, the environment, and rural development."
USDA Food Data Central
The major source of food composition data in the United States. It is the standard reference for most food composition databases in the public and private sectors.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

CorpWatch
GLOBALSTAT
Provides data on income distribution, energy consumption, water resources, dwellings, migration, land use, food production, nutrition, school enrollment or life expectancy around the globe.
Library of Economics and Liberty
EconLib is "dedicated to advancing the study of economics, markets, and liberty" through its rich collection of resources including articles by experts in the field, online editions of classic books and essays in economics, and the authoritative overviews of concepts from the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.
World Resources Institute (WRI)
This sustainability-focused organization provides reports and data on the world's climate, energy, food, forest, water, and cities

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Intergovernmental Organizations

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Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)