SHASTA COLLEGE LIBRARY 11555 Old Oregon Trail  *  PO Box 496006  *   Redding, CA 96049-6006

Statistics: In Print and Online

"There are lies, damned lies, and statistics."    Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

Locating Information: Books and Online eBooks

Locating Information: Articles

Useful Internet Links

Citing Your Sources: MLA Style

Shasta College Library Information

The Library Catalog is your author, title, and subject guide to the 80.000 books and videos and 12,600 Online eBooks in the Shasta College Library collection. Some search terms to consider are:

biometry, commercial statistics, econometrics, educational statistics, experimental design, gross national product, industrial statistics, mathematical statistics, medical statistics, regression analysis, sampling statistics, statisticians

The Library of Congress Classification is used to arrange books on the shelves.  Suggested Call Numbers for browsing shelves:

 

HA 29 Statistics in Social Sciences

HA 154 Social, Economic & Political Indicators

QA 276 Statistics

RA 407 Medical Statistics

Favorite Statistics Reference Books

This list is a small sample.  Browse the reference shelves and book stacks at these call numbers for additional titles.

Berinstein, Paula.  Finding Statistics Online: How to Locate the Elusive Numbers You Need.

[Ready Reference HA 33.5 .B47 1998]
General discussion and subject specific guides to reliable statistical sources.

California. Legislature. Senate. California Statistical Abstract  [Reference HA261 .C3 2001]

Annual compilation of detailed social, economic, and government statistics for California.  Also available online through Counting California, California Statistical abstract, http://countingcalifornia.cdlib.org/title/castat.html

Gale Research Inc. Statistical Abstract of the World [Reference HA154 .S83  1996]

Includes comparative data from nearly 200 countries on topics such as environment, demographics, ethnicity, religion, language, education, labor, energy, commerce.

Kurian, Thomas G.  Datapedia of the United States, 1790-2000: America Year by Year.

[Ready Reference HA 202 .K87 1994]
Significant United States historical statistics arranged by subject.

Notess, Greg R. Government Information on the Internet. 2nd ed. [Reference ZA5075 .N68 1998]

United Nations.  Demographic Yearbook. [Reference HA17 .D45 1990]

International statistics for over 20 counties.  Topics include population trends, mortality, marriage, and divorce.

United States. Dept. of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. County and City Data Book

[Reference HA202 .A36 2002]
Covers all counties of the United States as well as cities of 25,000 or greater inhabitants.

United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Bureau of Statistics. Statistical Abstract of the United States

[Ready Reference HA202 .A1 2001]
Current statistics on population, housing, education, labor, immigration, welfare.  Also available online at
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html

World Almanac And Book of Facts [Ready Reference AY67.N5 W7 2003]

Annual publication that includes many statistical tables.

Online eBooksare electronic versions of printed books.  The Shasta College Library's eBook collection is purchased through netLibrary and includes nearly 12,600 titles.  These are available at no charge to the College's registered students and staff.  The Internet also hosts collections of free ebooks.  These are usually older works no longer protected by copyright.

Locating  Statistics Online eBooks:

• Select Library Catalog from the Library's web page.
• Click on Search/Home and then click on Or Switch to Power Search.
• Enter search term (ex. statistics) in the words or phrase box.

Scroll down and select Online Book from the type box.  Click on Search. Four items are found.
• Repeat search with different search terms.
• Online eBook is read by clicking on the URL button in the Full Details box.

When logging in off campus, be sure to click on the satellite icon  and have your library card on hand.  The 14-digit number beneath the barcode is your access code.

• Counting California's mission is to provide flexible, user-friendly access to current and historical government data generated by both state and Federal agencies.

• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center is an online library of current event topics--the facts as well as the arguments of each topic's proponents and detractors. Search results are delivered as eight tabbed file folders, the third, labelled "Statistics," contains tables from Federal and non-governmental sources.

 

A Library Card is required to access most databases from off campus. For information about acquiring a  Library Card see "How do I get a Library Card?" on the Library's Frequently Asked Questions web page.

Useful Internet Links

General

• Librarian's Internet Index (www.lii.org) Anybody can publish anything on the web.  How can you rapidly find reliable information? The LII is a classified list of over 10,000 web sites. These sites have been previewed by librarians (and if you can't trust a librarian, whom can you trust?) and are regularly updated.  Scroll down to Ready Reference and Quick Facts,  click on Statistics and scan the 30+ subject headings for a topic of interest.
•  Nation Master was created by an independent webdesigner in Sydney to present facts that will "promote education and understanding about the world."
• Robert Niles’ personal webpage includes definitions of statistical terms and annotated links to sources of interest to researchers, writers, and journalists. Niles is a freelance journalist and web page designer.
• Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web links to U.S. and international statistics for over 50 nations.  Maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• City of Redding Police Department is a well maintained site that contains local crime statistics back to 1989. Click on Interesting Statistics in the left-hand frame for data on traffic collisions, d.u.i., and other crimes.

• FedStats  provides access to official statistical reports collected and published by over seventy Federal Government agencies. Searchable by:
• Topics A to Z: More than 400 topics that range from acute conditions (colds and influenza) through weekly earnings.
• Program/Subject areas: Link to summaries of the major statistical programs including agriculture, education, energy, environment, health, income, labor, national accounts, safety, and transportation.
• Agency: If you know the name of the agency, you can select it from our agency list, browse key statistics, and look up contact information.
• Key words or phrases:. to search all of the linked agencies.

• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data has as its mission to encourage research in the field of criminal justice through the preservation and sharing of data resources and through the provision of specialized training in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data.

• Statistical Abstract of the United States  includes a selection of data from many statistical publications, both government and private.  The print edition contains the same information, is easier on the eyes and can be found at the Reference section of the library [Ready Reference  HA 202 .A1 2001]. Note:  You must install the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to use the Statistical Abstract online. Information about this application, which is available free of charge, may be found on the Library's Software Tools web page.

• U.S. Census Bureau contains historical and contemporary data, reports, and projections.  It is searchable by topic and state.

• PollingReport.com  is the online presence of The Polling Report, a bimonthly "independent survey of trends which effect elections, government, and business." The web site is updated whenever a new poll is released, which means almost daily. Includes Gallup, Harris,Yankelovich, Princeton Survey Research Associates, network news polls more. Main categories are Politics and Policy; Business / Economy; American Scene; Insights; and National Barometer; with an extensive table of contents. Searchable.

• CNN.com
• Enter topic in Search CNN.COM text box preceded by + sign.  Add +poll* to limit to polls. Click on GO.

Example: +abortion + poll*
• Put quotes ("") around words that should be searched as a phrase.
• Use * at the end of the root word "poll" to retrieve “polls” and “polling” as well.
• Place + before word or phrase if concept must be present.
Example,  +“gun control” +poll* to retrieve polls on gun control.
• Public Opinion Poll Question Database allows users to search for specific poll questions by using key words and then narrow by poll and date. Included are over 1000 Louis Harris Polls (going back to 1958) with more than 60,000 questions covering a diverse range of topics, as well as items from the National Network of State Polls, and others. Developed by the Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• Public Agenda Online  Subtitled "the journalist's inside source for public opinion and policy analysis," this site addresses 18 controversial issues: abortion, America's global role, crime, the economy, education, the government, the family, the federal budget, gambling, health care, illegal drugs, immigration, Internet speech / privacy, Medicare, race, the right to die, social security, and welfare. Includes extensive information on each issue includes an overview, facts and trends, different perspectives, links to news stories, and the results of public opinion polls.

Books

• The official guide for this style is:

Joseph Gibaldi's MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed.  (Reference Desk LB2369 .G53 1999)
• Another helpful (if not official) book is:

Andrew Harnack's Online! : A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources  (Reference TK 5105.875 .I57 .H364 2000)

Websites
• Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Guide (official)
• Online (companion website to Andrew Harnack's above mentioned book)
• Guide for Writing Research Papers based on MLA Style (Capital Community College)
• Modern Language Association (MLA) Style: examples (Monroe Community College)
• MLA Style Guide:examples (University of Southern Mississippi)
• Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement (Dartmouth College)

• Current hours are posted on the Library Hours web page.  Come visit!
• All of the resources listed on this page are available via the Shasta College Library web site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.