Statistics

Statistics is the science of collecting, analysing and presenting numerical data. Statistical data can be found on a huge variety of subjects, for example the economy, employment, the environment, government, health, international trade, manufacturing, and population. They can be a vital source of information for your studies but they can also be misinterpreted.  See the guide on How to spot spin and inappropriate use of statistics

The University provides a number of statistical analysis tools to help you work with datasets.

Statistics Foundations 1 is a Linkedin Learning course that takes you from an introduction to statistics through to more complex analysis of your data. The course runs for just over 2 hours, but you can dip in and view the parts you need now.

Key Statistical and data Sources

Source		Description
	The UK Data Service	Provides access to over 6,000 computer-readable national and international datasets of quantitative and qualitative economic and social data across many disciplines and themes for use by researchers.
	Statista	Statista is a database that offers access to global statistics, data, graphs and infographics. Statista provides detailed information on over 100 industries and in-depth economic data on 120 countries; as well as information on global companies and market trends. All data is available to download and Statista allows you to edit how your data is presented.
	UK Official Statistics	You can search or browse for content by date,  policy area and department.  You can check on the release of latest statistics using the Upcoming tab, which lists statistical release announcements.
	Office for National Statistics	The UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and the recognised national statistical institute of the UK. Provides Health and Social care reports and the Census.
	Eurostat	The statistical office of the European Union (EU). It provides the EU with statistics at European level to enable comparisons between countries and regions. It consolidates the national statistics data collected by the statistical authorities of the EU member states and ensures they are comparable, using harmonized methodology. The database includes datasets and online versions of publications, as well as press releases and tables of data. Statistics Explained is a guide to to the Eurostat statistics, presenting statistical topics in an user friendly, ‘Wikipedia-like’ user format.
	OECD Statistics Portal	The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a membership organization of 45 countries. Its mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. It collects comparable statistics and economic and social data, monitors trends, and forecasts economic developments.
	UN Data	Provides a single access point to statistical data collected by the United Nations and its agencies. It links to 35 databases containing a total of 60 million records.
	IMF Data	The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. The IMF publishes a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators.
	Business Source Complete	A range of country reports with details of political, economic and social issues. When searching the database enter the country name into the search box and limit the publication type to Country Report
	Mintel and Mintel Market Sizes	Market intelligence including statistics for consumer and business sectors eg beer, social media usage and many more
	World Bank Open Data	Access to economic indicators. Areas covered include economic policy, external debts, financial sector and labor and employment.
	Global Health Observatory	WHO site pulling together global health data.
	PHE data analysis and tools	Public Health England's gateway to data on specific health conditions, risk factors, determinants of health
	NOMIS	Statistics related to population, society and the labour market at a national, regional and local level.  Here you can find parish and ward profiles.
	Digimap	View, print and annotate maps online or download data to GIS/CAD software - content includes GB Ordnance Survey, Environment, Geology, Historic, Marine and Society collections of maps and data.
	ILOSTAT	A database on labour statistics operated by the International Labour Organization Bureau of Statistics, a United Nations specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. ILOSTAT provides data for over 200 countries and includes statistics of employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, labour cost, consumer price indices, occupational injuries, strikes and lockouts and economically active population estimates and projections. Dates vary on statistic coverage.
	The National Archives	Provides access to archived digital data and documents from UK government departments. Datasets include: Children in care; Public health common dataset; British crime survey; Judicial statistics; Historic mortality data files; Coast protection survey of England, etc.
	Scottish Government Statistics	Managed by the Scottish Government, this site provides a range of official statistics about Scotland from a variety of data producers, for information and re-use.