Detail, Alec Jeffreys. The first DNA fingerprint is licensed under Attribution 4.0 InternationaL (CC BY 4.0). The Wellcome Collection.
Learn where to find data relevant for your assignments, and how to get help with using and interpreting these.
Research data is the information collected, observed, generated and created in research. It includes statistics which are summaries of numeric data.
Research data is used to underpin the claims made in research. Crucially, if data is transparent and made widely availability, it can be assessed for its reliability and validity; it can be re-interpreted; and it can be re-used in future research. Research data can be accessed via databases and digital repositories. Some of these are paid for by the library, while others make the research freely available on the web.
Databases with social, economics and finance statistics
Please note: you need to register to access Digimap modules the first time. Click to 'Log In' in the top right hand corner.
Digimap comprises maps and map data, including the following: Digimap - Ordnance Survey Collection, Environment Digimap, Historic Digimap, Geology Digimap, Marine Digimap and Aerial and Lidar Digimap. Create or interrogate a map online by selecting an appropriate base map, adding annotations and customising the content, use measurement and query tools to learn more about any study area. Download the raw spatial data in a wide range of formats.
eHRAF World Cultures contains ethnographic collections covering all aspects of cultural and social life from historical to contemporary time periods. The contents are organized by regions, subregions, and cultures and cover over 300 cultures. The material is indexed at the paragraph level by Human Relations Area Files anthropologists using unique subject identifier codes from the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM).
Independent Voices is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
Mass Observation Online makes available personal diaries, surveys, and other materials to provide records of public opinion from 1937 to 1967.
Many institutions collect peer-reviewed author manuscripts and pre-prints from their academics and put them into digital repositories. This provides easy, open access to high quality scientific publications.
Research outputs across the Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities can be found on the University of Bristol's research repository - Explore Bristol Research
You can access other institutional repositories and search their contents using the OpenDOAR directory.
Databases with policy documents
NB: This database can be browsed on campus without signing into the Overton site. Off campus, users need to register on the Overton registration page with their @bristol.ac.uk email address. Overton allows users to discover policy documents in 180 countries and explore their links to each other and to the academic research that has informed them. Overton indexes work from governments, universities, IGOs, NGOs, research funders, publishers and think tanks to understand their role in the policymaking landscape. Users can track the evolution of ideas all the way from academic and think tank research to government reports and legislation.
Use Policy Commons to discover and follow high-quality policy research from 210 countries and territories produced by world’s leading policy experts, charities, think tanks, IGOs and NGOs. Includes publications from inactive organisations that may not be available elsewhere. For help with searching see https://coherentdigital.net/resources2-1
The study skills area on Blackboard includes information on support for Maths and Statistics via self-paced online resources, one-to-one meetings and workshops.
The online sources include this resource on Reading Charts and Tables
For library resources to develop your research skills, see the Study and Research Skills section in this guide.