A number of government agencies, research institutes, and universities make their data available to the public on-line. Some data is only available via paid subscriptions. This page is designed to expose you to the available avenues for accessing on-line data in the behavioral sciences.
Beginning in January 2025, many federal datasets, websites, and other previously accessible resources, across agencies, are being taken offline to comply with executive orders. In some cases, press releases or data documentation have been removed; in others, entire datasets have been taken down, corrupted, or altered. If there is data you are expecting to find on a federal website or if the site itself has been altered to reflect non-evidence based information, then find alternate sources for data and/or explore what the website previously looked like using the Wayback Machine. In addition, here is the APA's statement on access to federal databases.
An assemblage of existing data files that initially focused upon communities of color. Since the late 1990's, there is an increased number of studies and projects on additional minority communities and exploring a wider range of experiences and relationships.
There are also open datasets on animal behavior. Here are a few:
Try searching the internet for your topic with the term "statistics" or "data." You may encounter reports or surveys agencies/instutions that may be helpful. You may also find articles that cite original data sets from institutions like universities, research centers, government agencies, or non-partisan think tanks.
If you are still not finding what you need, try searching for your topic in Google Dataset Search.
As you read psychology literature and look at the data, you will see studies/data that were collected and/or evaluated using specific psychological tests or measures (e.g. Trial Making Test or Mini Mental Status Test). Some of these are proprietary but others can be requested for use or are freely available.
To find articles utilizing specific tests or measures, use the Advanced Search Feature in the Oxy library PsycInfo Database:
To search for publically available or requestable tests or measures, try these resources:
Beginning in January 2025, many federal datasets, websites, and other previously accessible resources, across agencies, are being taken offline to comply with executive orders. In some cases, press releases or data documentation have been removed; in others, entire datasets have been taken down, corrupted, or altered. If there is data you are expecting to find on a federal website or if the site itself has been altered to reflect non-evidence based information, then find alternate sources for data and/or explore what the website previously looked like using the Wayback Machine.
