This guide defines demographics & society as the organization, characteristics, and behaviors of a population.
Please apply the search strategies outlined in Introduction to Finding Data with the keywords below to help orchestrate a search to find datasets related to demographics and society.
Keywords: population, income, race, ethnicity, gender, age, crime, household
Some social data can be difficult to find, such as opinion polls and social media statistics. The following library databases are good sources for finding data related to personal opinions and social interactions.
The largest array of U.S. demographic data, including business, economic, education, employment, familial, living arrangements, government, health, housing, income, poverty, population, race, and ethic information. You can find additional resources for searching this database here.
Host to survey questionnaires, biomarker collections, and geographic information for over 90 countries. Although the DHS is not a government website they are funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). A list of surveyed countries can be found here.
Datasets include population, urbanization, migrant stock and flows, family planning indicators, contraceptive use, fertility, marriage, household size and composition, and elder living arrangement data.
World pop has “partnered with governments, UN agencies and donors to produce almost 45,000 datasets, complementing traditional population sources with dynamic, high-resolution data for mapping human population distributions, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that everyone, everywhere is counted in decision making.”
Data provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this database is focused on subsidized housing, income, government funding, and renting costs in urban areas.
This database focuses on labor supply, working conditions, poverty, inequality, competitiveness, and industrial relations. Information from the ILO is directly used by the United Nations in relation to labor statistics.
Information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and statistics on inflation & prices, employment, pay & benefits, workplace injuries, occupational requirements, reports, and maps.
Social Media Disclaimer: Collecting social media data presents various challenges due to the vastness and dynamic nature of online platforms. Privacy concerns arise as social media users often share personal information, and accessing and using this data without explicit consent can raise ethical issues. Additionally, data access limitations imposed by social media platforms can hinder comprehensive data collection, as APIs and data scraping methods may have restrictions or require approval. The sheer volume of data on social media platforms can also be overwhelming, making it essential for researchers to develop efficient data filtering and sampling techniques to manage vast amounts of information.
Ensuring data quality and reliability can be challenging, as social media content may contain misinformation, biased opinions, and spam, necessitating robust validation processes. The fast-paced nature of social media demands real-time data collection strategies, putting pressure on researchers to maintain up-to-date information while addressing ethical considerations and preserving data privacy. As the digital landscape evolves, navigating these challenges becomes vital to harnessing the potential of social media data for research and insights.