Demographic and Statistical Research  

This guide is a starting point for research on demographic and statistical information. Demographic information consists of numeric data or statistics involving groups of people. Demographic information has many purposes. It is used for research in the social sciences, creation of policy and identification of potential customers in marketing.

Some questions requiring demographic information to answer would include:

· How many people in the United States have college degrees? 

· Is more than 12% of the population of St. Charles County, MO, over the age of 60? 

· Did more or less people own homes in 2000 than in 1960?

Some demographic information takes the form of numerical data that must be interpreted. Other demographic information takes the form of statistics, numbers that have already been interpreted.

Statistics or numerical data that has been collected, organized and interpreted in some way, exist on a wide variety of subjects, including health, weather, crime, population characteristics, labor and employment, to name only a few. This guide will help you find statistical information that is available in print publications and on the Web.

A word of caution about using statistics: In order to understand the meaning of the statistics you have found, and use them appropriately, you should check several things: from where the numbers came (the "source"); how the numbers were collected (sometimes given in a footnote); what date range the statistics cover (usually different than the date the statistics were published); and who collected the data (how reliable is the agency or group who collected and analyzed the numbers in order to come up with the statistics).