Important NOTICE: Missing Government Data
As you conduct research, you may notice that some federal government datasets that were once publicly available have been removed. Some datasets may be modified and relocated, with the hope that they will be restored, while others may remain inaccessible. Additionally, some organizations remove data to comply with federal regulations.
How to Preserve Public Data:
- Download data and reports as soon as you find them.
- Use the Wayback Machine from Internet Archive to save websites and ensure future access.
For more information, visit the following websites:
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Internet ArchiveThe Internet Archive saves data through its Wayback Machine, Vault, and other services. The Internet Archive's goal is to preserve records of online society for future generations.
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Data Liberation ProjectThe Data Liberation Project is an initiative to identify, obtain, reformat, clean, document, publish, and disseminate government datasets of public interest.
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Data Rescue ProjectThe Data Rescue Project is a coordinated effort among a group of data organizations, including IASSIST, RDAP, and members of the Data Curation Network. Our goal is to serve as a clearinghouse for data rescue-related efforts and data access points for public US governmental data that are currently at risk.
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Data LumosDataLumos is an ICPSR archive for valuable government data resources. ICPSR has a long commitment to safekeeping and disseminating US government and other social science data. DataLumos accepts deposits of public data resources from the community and recommendations of public data resources that ICPSR itself might add to DataLumos.
Presidential Action – Information Collection Changes
When the government wants to gather information from the public (like through surveys or forms), federal agencies must file something called an Information Collection Request (ICR). This explains what they’re asking, why it matters, and shows they’re following the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Recent presidential actions have changed what questions can (or can’t) be asked in some major surveys and applications.
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Presidential Action Information Collection Request (ICR) TrackerList of all the ICRs that have been impacted.
Notable Changes
Among the three most influential Presidential Actions, several notable collections have been affected.
Main change: Removing gender identity options (like “transgender” or “non-binary”), changing “gender” to “sex.”
Impacted collections include:
- 2025 American Housing Survey (AHS)
- American Community Survey Methods Panel Tests
- The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
- Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS)
- National Survey of Children's Health 2025
- Annual Survey of Refugees
- National Crime Victimization Survey
- Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322
EO 14151: Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing –
Main change: Cutting questions or wording about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and replacing terms like “health equity.”
Impacted collections include:
- National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2026
- Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Joint Quarterly Narrative Performance Report
- Evaluation of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau Programs
- Hospital Reporting Initiative--Hospital Quality Measures
EO 14148: Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions –
Main change: Removing questions on civil rights, discrimination, sexual orientation, and environmental justice.
Impacted collections include:
Datasets
Datasets,also known asdata sets anddatabanks,are a collection of raw statistics and information generated by a research study.
You can find most datasets by finding the agency or organization conducting research in a particular area.
For example, the Pew Research Center is an excellent place to start if you want to learn what people think about social issues.
Population Estimates Program fromAmerican Factfinder,run by the U.S. government, would provide data about people.
Please explore these additional LibGuides:
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Finding Data and StatisticsA LibGuide that will help you locate and use quantitative and qualitative data and statistics that are organized by subject.
Use this table to assist you in locating health statistics from the sources provided below:
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National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Contains current data from surveys such as the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), birth and mortality detail files, National Immunization Survey, Longitudinal Study of Aging, and National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)
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Medline Plus This link opens in a new window Health professionals and consumers alike can depend on it for information that is authoritative and up to date. MedlinePlus has extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over 650 diseases and conditions.
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CDC - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.
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State Health Facts Produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation and provides data at the national and state level. Has over 800 health indicators including: demographics and economy, women’s health, minority health, and health insurance.
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Global Health Observatory (GHO) The World Health Organization's (WHO) gateway to health-related statistics for more than 1000 indicators for its 194 member states.
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County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Annual rankings provide a snapshot of a community’s health. Statistics at the county level on factors such as: quality of life, health behavior, social and economic factors, and physical environment.
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U.S. Census Bureau Federal government’s largest statistical agency. Provides facts and figures about America’s people, places, and economy. Levels include state, county, city, town, zip code, census tract, congressional district, tribal areas. Other surveys available include: American Community Survey, Current Population Survey, Survey of Income and Program Participation.
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City Health Dashboard Produced by the non-profit National Resource Network in partnership with the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health and the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU, 2017-present. Search, browse and compare data on 900+ cities in the U.S. Data at the city, zip code, and census tract levels. Measures align with County Health Rankings & Roadmaps.
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Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) National clearinghouse on rural health issues funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Health statistics of interest to those living in or working in rural areas. Statistics for metro and non-metro counties on: demographics, health disparities, social determinants, and access to services.
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U.S. Census This link opens in a new windowThe Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. Statistics are organized by themes, or topics, making it easier for you to find what you need.
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Social Explorer This link opens in a new windowSocial Explorer is a web-based mapping and data visualization tool that allows you to explore 500,000+ data indicators and over 220 years of data for the United States including all Decennial Censuses, American Community Surveys and many other datasets. The interface lets users create maps and reports to better illustrate, analyze and understand markets, voting, poverty, aging populations, ethnicity and race, spending patterns, health indicators, crime, environment, education, and more.
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SAGE Research Methods This link opens in a new window
SAGE Research Methods contains books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences. The collection provides case studies, showing the challenges and successes of doing research, written by the researchers themselves. Datasets is a collection of teaching datasets and instructional guides that give students a chance to learn data analysis by practicing themselves. Videos contain tutorials, case study videos, expert interviews, and more, covering the entire research methods and statistics curriculum. Note: Faculty who wish to use “Teaching Notes” will need to create a profile and use a verification code. Contact Ann Agee or Christine Holmes for the verification code.
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CountryWatch This link opens in a new windowCountryWatch provides critical country-specific intelligence and data that covers demographic, political, economic, business, cultural and environmental subject matter. Click on My Subscription in top right corner of page to to discover what's included and available.
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CALSPEAKS SSRIC Data Sets This link opens in a new window
CALSPEAKS* at Sacramento State is a unique and ongoing academic investigation of public opinion in California, emphasizing the social, economic, political, and environmental issues that distinguish our state. Learn more about CALSPEAKS
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County Business Patterns This link opens in a new windowThe Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. Analyze economic changes over time.
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Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) This link opens in a new windowThis is an archive of social science data (aging, population, economics, health, etc) for research and instruction. The data files are to be used with statistical software, such as SAS or SPSS. Note:You need to create an account to gain full access. At the website, please select Create an Account, then click the Google link and use your SJSU email address to be authenticated. You will get a one time set up code. Once your account is created, continue using the Google link to sign in using your SJSU credentials. Contact ICPSR-help@umich.edu for acct problems.
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Simmons Insights This link opens in a new windowProvides access to U.S. adult consumer data on product and brand usage, spending behavior, media habits, and more. Restricted to 3 users at a time. Please be courteous and close your browser or tab when done.
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Bike Share Data SystemsLinks to multiple data portals to get trip information
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MIT EdX ParticipantsDeidentified records of individuals use of course materials
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MovieLensMovie ratings in datasets of varying size, good for merging
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National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)Database of product injuries
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Stanford Open Policing ProjectData by state about police stops, including driver race and outcome
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Yelp Open DatasetReviews, business attributes, and picture datasets. Get ideas from their challenges
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American Statistical Association: Data ExpoDatasets on various formats on various topics
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Analytics Vidhya - Datasets for Machine Learning24 Ultimate Data Science Projects To Boost Your Knowledge and Skills
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Biostatistics Datasets from NHLBIThe NHLBI has prepared three datasets suitable for use in an undergraduate or graduate level biostatistics instruction program. These datasets are freely available upon request.
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Centre for Multilevel Modelling DatasetsA small collection of multi-level datasets in MLwinN and fixed format
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Data Quest - Data Science Projects18 places to find data sets for data science projects
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Generalized Linear Models DatasetsSmall datasets in Stata and Plain Text format
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Kaggle DatasetsUser-contributed open data with preview or Competition Data
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Lionbridge AI - Datasets for Machine LearningThe 50 Best Free Datasets for Machine Learning
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Portal Project Teaching DatabaseA small collection of real-world data in ecology that has been simplified. Datasets are currently in csv, json, and sqlite.
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RDatasetsRepository for datasets distributed with R and various R packages
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Sample Social Network DatasetsCollection of social network datasets formatted for Gephi
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Henry A. Murray Research ArchiveA repository for quantitative and qualitative research data that includes data, audio, and video
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Library of Congress: Occupational Folklife ProjectContains several special projects such as the Veterans History Project, the Civil Rights History Project, StoryCorps and more
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re3dataSearch for repositories by broad topic area to identify a data archive that contains qualitative information
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Syracuse Qualitative Data RepositoryQDR stores digital data generated and analyzed through qualitative and multi-method research.
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UK Data Archive Open Access Qualitative DataThe UKDA provides the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the UK.
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Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) This link opens in a new windowThis is an archive of social science data (aging, population, economics, health, etc) for research and instruction. The data files are to be used with statistical software, such as SAS or SPSS. Note:You need to create an account to gain full access. At the website, please select Create an Account, then click the Google link and use your SJSU email address to be authenticated. You will get a one time set up code. Once your account is created, continue using the Google link to sign in using your SJSU credentials. Contact ICPSR-help@umich.edu for acct problems.