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*Sustainability: Data & Statistics
Data & Statistics Sources
- Environmental Sustainability - Socioeconomic Data and Applications CenterThe SEDAC Thematic Portal on Environmental Sustainability provides access to the latest global data, documentation, and visualization and analysis tools for those interested in the subject of environmental sustainability.
- Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher EducationAASHE provides access to their reports and research to Furman-affiliates. Create a personal account using your Furman email address to obtain full-text access.
- Data.govData.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets.
- EPA Open DataThis site is a single place to find a vast selection of EPA data sources, organized into topics such as air and water that are in easily downloadable formats.
- Geography & Environment from the U.S. Statistical AbstractThis section presents a variety of information on the physical environment of the United States. The subjects covered are mostly concerned with environmental trends but include related subjects such as land use, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, toxic releases, oil spills, hazardous waste sites, municipal waste and recycling, threatened and endangered wildlife, and the environmental industry.
- International Financial Statistics OnlineA source of international statistics on aspects of international and domestic finance. Users can download the data, but in order to use the download function, you need to first sign-in/create a free user account.
- Census BureauThis site provides web access to most of the data found in the 1990 census. It is searchable by keyword, or you can browse the subject listing. To find data on a state or county, click on "Access Tools" and then "Map Stats". Like most Government sites, this one can be slow to load.
- Google Dataset SearchSearchable data from all over the web.
- NationMasterNationMaster is a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. You can generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics with ease.
Resources about Data & Statistics
Sustainability IndicatorsCall Number: Gen Collection GE140 .B45 2008ISBN: 9781844072996Sustainability Indicators reviews the development and value of sustainability indicators and discusses the advantage of taking a holistic and qualitative approach rather than focusing on strictly quantitative measures. They also provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of projects that undertake work in the general field of sustainable development.
GIS for Sustainable DevelopmentCall Number: General Collection HC79.E5 G54 2006This volume reviews leading GIS science, providing an overview of research topics and applications that enable GIS newcomers and professionals to apply GIS methods to sustainable spatial planning.
Use of Satellite and in-Situ Data to Improve SustainabilityThe presented papers provide information on how to use operational satellites and in-situ measurements for early detection of large-scale droughts, floods and fires, diagnose crop and pasture annual losses, predict periods with health/unhealthy vegetation based on such climate forcing events as ENSO, monitor air quality and geomagnetic activities, assess land cover trends in response to global warming etc.
- Social ExplorerSocial Explorer provides access to current and historical census data and demographic information and lets users create maps and reports to illustrate, analyze, and understand demography and social change. Among other documents Social Explorer includes the entire US Census from 1790 to 2010, annual updates from the American Community Survey, the Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) from 1980 to 2010 and Carbon Emissions Data for 2002 from the Vulcan Project.
Data versus Statistics
Data, data sets, and statistics are often used as an interchangeable term in daily conversation. In public health and other disciplines that use qualitative and quantitative analysis, data and statistics have two different meanings.
Data and Data sets are raw information that has yet to be processed for statistical analysis.
Statistics are data that have been analyzed often into rations, percentages, or figures/tables/graphs/visuals to showcase patterns, trends, and/or frequency.
Knowing which type of information you're looking for i.e., prevalence or incidence of a disease versus a strict count of people with that disease will help you determine where to look.
Many times you can get the raw data AND the statistical analysis by doing a search of your health outcome or disease on the CDC or NCHS websites, which are both linked on this guide.