• Last Updated: 07/21/2008

About Data Services

This is the home for resources on discovering, acquiring, using and preserving research data. The site covers social sciences data, geospatial data and scientific data. Please see below for discussions of issues surrounding data access, curation and preservation and new data resources.

Anecdotes about Data

Making The Best Use Of Employer, Non-Employer Data

• Making The Best Use Of Employer, Non-Employer Data

  “Business definitions have always been tricky for researchers,” said Brian Headd, economist for the Office of Advocacy and co-author of the working paper. “It’s hard to determine what counts as a business. For instance, is there a minimum employee or revenue requirement, a length of time in business, or a contribution to owners income? He added, “Definitions are often based on convenience, such as what data is available to the researcher.”

Bureau of Labor Statistics Web Redesign and Nifty New Features

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has redesigned its website and has added many useful features, of which some are highlighted here. For all new features, see http://www.bls.gov/bls/redesign2008.htm.

1. RSS feed for latest economic indicators: http://www.bls.gov/feed/bls_latest.rss

2. Calender of all releases with the option to subscribe via *.ical/*.ics: http://www.bls.gov/schedule/news_release/

3. Guide to Data by Geography: http://www.bls.gov/guide/geography/

4. Tutorials: http://www.bls.gov/tutorial/home.htm

MN Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board

The MN Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board makes finding campaign finance data a little more complex than one might expect. The data isn't as recent as one might expect either - 12/31/2007 in most cases and most information provided is in *.pdf files. Exceptions are noted.

Independent Expenditures - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/dyncfb/cfbsearch5.php

Contributions Received by a Candidate - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/dyncfb/cfbsearch1.php

Contributions Made by Individuals - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/dyncfb/cfbsearch2.php

Contributions Received by Party Units or Political Committees - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/dyncfb/cfbsearch3.php

Contributions Made by Party Units or Political Committees - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/dyncfb/cfbsearch4.php

Political Party, Political Committee and Political Fund Reports - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/rptViewer/viewRptsOther.php
On the Board home page, "Political Party Units" are listed as a separate link, but they're really a subset of the overall Political Party database.

Candidate Report of Receipts and Expenditures - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/rptViewer/viewRptsCan.php

Lobbyist Disbursement Reports - http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/rptViewer/viewRptsLob.php
Data through 2008

Public Official Lists - http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/po_lists.html
Reports in *.html; content undated.

State Campaign Finance Databases

For information on state-level campaign finance, see Campaign Finance Databases from the State Agency Databases site.

New Financial and Travel Statistics added to STAT-USA

STAT-USA has new financial and travel statistics. STAT-USA is a subscription database from the Department of Commerce that contains statistics either hard to find elsewhere or not available elsewhere.