Datasets & Statistics - What's the Difference?
The difference is that datasets are presented to you in full - all available variables in one file - for you to manipulate, aggregate, and create descriptive statistics as needed. Statistics are presented in an aggregate form already such as a table of frequencies, means, rates, or visualized as a chart or graph.
When would you use one over the other?
When you want quick facts for a presentation or paper (typically used to strengthen a point), you would use typically use readily-available or easily created statistics. Just make sure you cite them properly. If you're planning to test a hypothesis, develop a comprehensive marketing strategy, assess the effect of a particular treatment - essentially anything that would require in-depth analysis - then you need a dataset.
Poverty/TANF/Welfare
Data on state and federal TANF funding from 1997 to the present.
Contains current and historical data on a wide variety of social and economic topics, including Social Security, employment, earnings, welfare, child support, health insurance, the elderly, families with children, poverty, and taxation.
This comprehensive resource includes basic information on how poverty is measured, poverty rates from the past year, and data for specific counties and states.
The site from the US department of labor includes salary data for social workers, and the number of social workers within the major specialities of the field.
Includes employment compensation and national estimates of professionals specializing in this area of social work.
Includes employment compensation and national estimates of professionals specializing in medical social work.
Includes employment compensation and national estimates of professionals focusing on children, families, and schools settings.
The site provides datasets on adoption and foster care analysis and child abuse.
The National Juvenile Court Data Archive provides datasets on the activities of juvenile courts from around the country.
Includes basic census data pertaining to children.
The ACF includes policy and planning links to several statistical reports including statistics on adoption/foster care, child abuse, and Head Start programs.
Provides reports, charts, studies in topic area of child poverty.
Data archived on child welfare and maltreatment. Nearly all data sets are free and can be used for secondary analysis.
This site includes basic international statistics on issues such as HIV, education levels, and infant mortality
A division of the CDC, the National Center for Health Statistics has statistics on patients receiving out-patient mental health care, patients in hospitals, and mental illness data within nursing homes. It also includes data on suicide.
Features reports with data on methamphetamine use, emergency room visits due to substance abuse and mental health problems, and suicide rates.
A comprehensive, up-to-date directory on crime statistics ranging from prison finance, arrests, public opinion, and the death penalty.
Current data income, health insurance coverage, and health care utilization for the United States population.
Statistics on homeownership, affordability, and housing vacancy data. The site also includes historical tables on crowding, rents, and homeownership by race.