Welcome!
This library research guide is designed as a research starting point for Professor Perea's Precapstone: Strategies to Advance Social Change. The pages in the left menu roughly group various kinds of information you might find helpful.
First, three things to consider when looking for data:
- Define your goals - this will help you decide where to look. Are you looking for summary statistics or raw/micro data to do your own analysis? What geographic region and level of geography do you need? What is the time period you are interested in? Do you need one point or a time series?
- It’s helpful to think about who might have collected the data you're looking for such as governmental bodies, organizations, business/trade groups, or commercial entities and see what data they have available.
- Performing a literature search is a useful technique for identifying datasets and research methodologies in your discipline. You can see what other data researchers have used or collected.
In addition to data sources, there are links to a variety of research guides that cover this topic in more detail, a brief introduction to HOLLIS, and some guides to using sources.
Need More Help?
If you didn't find the help you needed on this guide, here are some additional options for help:
- The Get Research Help webpage offers various resources, including finding subject specialists, which is a good idea for degree-candidates working towards a thesis.
- The Ask a Librarian webpage offers an online chat service, an email form if you are unsure about who to ask for subject-expertise help or specific questions, and a form to request a research appointment.
- If you have general questions about the libraries, see the Library Guide for Harvard Extension School.
- Also, feel free to email me, Mary Frances Angelini, Research Librarian for the Extension School angelini@fas.harvard.edu with any questions. If I don't have the answer, I will refer you to one of our many subject specialists.
