Introduction

Datasets are essential resources for conducting research, complete projects, and gain practical experience in data analysis. This guide provides an overview of various datasets available to students, including those specifically for big data and data science.

Types of Datasets

1. Social Surveys

Social survey datasets cover a wide range of topics such as health, finance, employment, and crime. These datasets often use representative samples and are repeated regularly, allowing for trend analysis and pattern identification within populations.

2. Qualitative Data

Qualitative datasets include transcripts from interviews and focus groups, online sources, and images. These datasets provide in-depth descriptions of people’s everyday lives, behaviours, beliefs, and emotions, which can be analysed using techniques like thematic analysis or discourse analysis.

3. Census Data

Census data provides a snapshot of demographic and social life. It includes data for areas such as local authorities, samples of individual records, and data on migration or commuting flows.

4. International Data

International datasets contain socio-economic time series data for various countries or regions. These datasets are updated regularly, providing up-to-date information for comparing countries and tracking changes over time

*** Please note that University of Greenwich Library does not subscribe to most of these resources, so you may not have full access to all features. ***

The University subscribes to a number of resources that provide data sets, each are listed the the appropriate section. The following resources also include tutorials on how to use datasets:  

LinkedIn Learning

Sage Research Methods

UK Data Service

We also have many books on these topics both online and in paper format. Here are some good search terms for finding books online or on the shelves: 

data analysis 

data science 

data AND research*

data AND (state subject) eg data and nursing

Maths and Statistics Help (MASH) support sessions are available in our libraries and online.

 You can book a one to one or discover our workshops via  LibCal - University of Greenwich.

There are occasional workshops at key times of the year on using Excel and SPSS.