On this page
This page was put together to offer quick access to some of the resources that gather statistics and data related to diseases and health related concerns. Categories were assigned to assist in determining which type or location might work best for your research need. Additional resources and recommendations for this page are welcome.
Books to help
A Practical Approach to Using Statistics in Health Research by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2018A hands-on guide to using statistics in health research, from planning, through analysis, and on to reporting
Analyzing Qualitative Data by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2018This book tackles the challenges of how to make sense of qualitative data. It offers students and researchers a hands-on guide to the practicalities of coding, comparing data, and using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis.
Health Data Sharing to Support Better Outcomes by Call Number: Ebook-NCBI BookshelfISBN: 9780309705097Publication Date: 2023Additional authors: The Learning Health System Series; Kristin L. Carman (Editor); Claudia Grossmann (Editor); Maryan Zirkle (Editor); Inez Adams (Editor); Sameer Siddiqi (Editor); Mahnoor Ahmed (Editor); Danielle Whicher (Editor)
This Special Publication outlines a number of potentially valuable policy changes and actions that will help drive toward effective, efficient, and ethical data sharing, including more compelling and widespread communication efforts to improve awareness, understanding, and participation in data sharing.
Finding data
- Statistics & Data for HealthA selected group of sources for data and statistics
- List of mostly NU licensed sources that include dataincludes PolicyMap, Social Explorer, ICPSR, Staista and others.
- ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) This link opens in a new windowA non-profit membership-based data archive based at University of Michigan. ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction. You must register for a myData account in order to access some reports.
Tips on citing
- Citing data & statisticsTutorials and guidance for citing
Statista for finding data sources
CDC Data Portal and Raw Data
If you are looking for raw data there are few different areas of the CDC website to check in.
CDC Data Portal
For raw data that can be shared publicly (i.e. it does not have sensitive private information) you can try the CDC data portal (link below). There are a number of preset categories displayed in boxes on the data portal’s homepage or you can click on ‘Browse all’ to search them all.
The results may include files like maps, stories, calendars and other things, so if you are only looking for datasets, select that option from the View Types filter on the left.
- Browse CDC PortalFrom Browse, you can search with keywords in the search bar at the top and filter your searchers using the options to the left, including Categories, Type, Tags and Domain.
De-Identified Vital Statistics
- Vital Statistics Online Data PortalFor raw vital statistics data (births, deaths, and related data) the Vital Statistics Online Data Portal has US data files, US Territories data files, and user guides all organized by year. While these datasets are deidentified, make sure to read the Data Use Agreement and Data Use Policy before using these data files.
Sensitive Raw Data
For raw data that may include sensitive information there are a few different sources. The CDC’s Research Data Center allows researchers to access restricted data through a mediated application process.
- Research Data Center (RDC)The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) operates the Research Data Center (RDC) to allow researchers access to restricted-use data. The RDC is responsible for protecting the confidentiality of survey respondents, study subjects, or institutions while providing access to restricted-use data for statistical purposes. Researchers must submit an application outlining the need for access to restricted-use data. The application provides a framework for NCHS to identify potential disclosure risks and how the data will be used.
Citing Statistics Resources
Citing can be a challenge when looking at the variety of sources and formats that statistical information comes in. Here are a few helpful sources.