Are you a student, journalist, researcher, or policy maker looking for statistics or data to support your position or argument? Are you unsure of where to find your data? The next time you visit our website or your favorite branch, take a few minutes to explore our recent database subscription to RAND State Statistics, available on the library’s Research & Homework page. RAND is a respected nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank whose mission is to help improve the lives of communities worldwide through the use of rigorous, fact-based research and analysis to provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.
RAND State Statistics allows the database user to access nearly 200 social science databases with coverage of all fifty states, plus an additional 80 databases on detailed information of California. RAND culls the data from federal and state entities and arranges them into broad subject areas such as Population & Demographics; Education; Business & Economics; Environment & Weather; Health & Health Care; Crime, Prisons & Courts; Labor Force; Employment and Earning; and Income, Wealth & Poverty. Results can be viewed as data, line or bar graphs, or on a map.
Basically, RAND has applied their own search interface and data output options—much easier to view—onto government-produced datasets to create a one-stop student research shop; a veritable statistical smorgasbord!
Here are some sample questions that can be answered using RAND State Statistics.
- How many homeless families live in the Los Angeles area?
- Which states use the most alternative energy sources to produce electricity?
- How much does California spend toward K-12 education?
- What are the top ten U.S. cities by population?
- Which California county has the highest birth rate?
- Which state has the most people not covered by health insurance at any time during the year?
Have fun exploring all the data that RAND State Statistics has to offer!