Statistics and data

Finding statistics

Key points to consider

When searching for statistics, ask yourself:

• Are statistics likely to be available on the topic?
• Which organisation(s) might collect relevant statistics?
• Where might statistics be published or mentioned (i.e. websites, reports, yearbooks, bulletins, newspapers, magazines, journals)?

Remember:

• Statistics may not be as detailed or variable as you need (e.g. they might be available for NSW but not Illawarra).
• The most recent statistics may be several years old (e.g. census data).
• Some statistics are not published and freely available.

Don't forget to evaluate the information you find on the internet to make sure it's accurate and high quality.

Tips for searching statistics

• Limit your search using terms like statistics, data, survey or demographics.
• Limit your search to government or non-commercial organisations using Advanced Search options to limit your search to .gov or .org sites.
• Find statistics for organisations or government departments via Library SEARCH using an Author search, e.g. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
• Limit your results in Library SEARCH by selecting statistics in the subject filter.