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Once you've determined that your assignment requires statistics, here are some ways to get started. This tutorial provides tips for finding statistical resources. How Do I Find Statistics? Title Slide
Look for statistical handbooks or web sites which cover a broad range of topics, cover these topics consistently from year to year and cover a significant time period or a range of years.  
Governments and intergovernmental organizations collect vast amounts of information. Many provide excellent statistical publications and web sites which meet these criteria of comprehensiveness and consistency over time. Table 451. Composition of Congress by Political Party: 1977 to 2017 and a partial screenshot of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Subject Areas Page.
Businesses also collect and publish statistics. The library subscribes to a number of these resources on your behalf. Statista is one of the research tools that we offer. Bar chart from Statista titled Bipartisan Support for Net Neutrality where support for net neutrality is similar across political affiliation.
There are many ways to locate statistics for your research project. To begin, look for Snell library research guides in your discipline. Subjectguides.lib.neu.edu over a screenshot of the Research Subject Guides list.
Many of these guides provide a statistics and data tab. This example shows the data and statistics resources on the Political Science Guide. For further assistance you may contact the subject librarian identified on the guide.  
Look for sources which identify statistical materials. This example from the statistical abstract of the United States lists statistical guides compiled by the US government. Individual state governments and foreign countries. Appendix I introduces the data sources used in the abstract. Similar example on Cenus.gov
Look for statistical infographics. Infographics provide a quick topic overview and can help a reader understand more about your research. Also, infographics can help you identify sources for further statistical information. The American Psychological Association provided this material on political tension in the workplace. Example bar graph from Statista titled Political Tension by the Water Cooler where 60% of respondents reported overhearing others discussing politics at work.
Research publications often provide statistics. Find an article or a report related to your research topic and scan the text for relevant statistics. Check the citation for the statistical source used by the authors. You can track down the source and find additional statistics of interest. Political Polarization & Media Habits from the Pew Research Center.
Scholarly articles often contain statistics. In this library database, search for materials on political polarization, we've added the term statistics to find scholarly articles with statistical content. Screenshot of political polarization AND statistics keywords in an EBSCO database search box.
This American Sociological Review article on political relationships in the U.S. Senate contains statistics as shown in the example. The article's bibliography may also provide additional references to statistical materials. Article: Pulling closer and moving apart: Identity, and Influence in the U.S. Senate, 1973 to 2009. Screenshot of title and table 1.
To compare voter participation in U.S. presidential elections at year intervals, it's important to find a reliable source that reports this information consistently over time. This table from the statistical abstract covers the years from 1934 to 2016. Table 3 Reported Voting and Registration, by sex and single years of age. November 2014 from Who Votes? Congressional Elections and the American Electorate: 1978-2014, population characteristics. By Thom File, Issued July 2015. P20-577.
If you need further information, please use one of our ask a librarian services. Closing Slide: Ask a Librarian library.northeastern.edu/ask