Finding statistics can be frustrating, challenging and exciting. You will not find everything you're looking for in a neat and tidy package. Plan to spend a good deal of time sifting through sources to find the statistics you're looking for. Persistence and perseverance can pay off! When looking for statistics, ask yourself these questions as they'll give you ideas on where to start your search:
Remember to be flexible! The statistics you're looking for might not have been collected exactly how you envision. The question asked by the original researchers might not be framed the same way you are framing your inquiry. Or the data may not be as nuanced as you would like (for instance, you might find statistics about dog ownership but not specifically chocolate lab ownership). Go into it with an open mind. See what statistics exist and use what you find to shape your inquiry and approach.
In addition to the resources on this guide, you may also want to look at more of our online research guides for your area of study, as the guides may contain additional information about statistics. For example, if you're looking for health statistics, consult the Health & Exercise Sciences research guide or Nursing research guide, which will outline ways and places to find information in those related areas.
This guide is a starting point and designed to give you ideas of the kinds of places that publish statistics on various topics. It is definitely not comprehensive, so please don't hesitate to ask a librarian for further assistance.
While some of their information on these guides, which come from other libraries, might be restricted, a lot of the information you'll find on these guides is publicly available.