Questions about statistics have long been a staple at library reference desks. The rise of the Internet and the spread of statistical software packages have blurred the line between statistics reference and data reference. This guide is designed to help you answer basic data reference questions without having to refer to a dedicated data services librarian.

Includes index.

Data reference basics -- General sources -- Agriculture and food -- Crime -- Earth science : general -- Earth science : air, climate and weather -- Earth science : water -- Economics : general -- Economics : government finance -- Economics : firms and industries -- Economics : commodities -- Economics : labor -- Economics : macroeconomic accounts -- Economics : banks and lending -- Economics : real estate -- Economics : trade and tariffs -- Education -- Energy -- Health and health care -- People and households -- Political science : elections -- Political science : war and peace -- Political science : other -- Public opinion surveys -- Transportation -- Spatial data -- When all else fails : using article databases, WorldCat, and real live people to find data -- Appendix A: citing data -- Appendix B: getting started with the survey documentation and analysis software.