Beyond what we covered in the book chapters, there are many more websites and databases around the world to find data for news, business, sports and other stories. This collection will get you started.
INTERNATIONAL
DataPortals.org
Search for hundreds of data portals all over the world
EuroStat
Search for datasets in dozens of European countries
WHO: Global Health Observatory
Demographics, diseases, mortality, obesity, HIV/AIDS, immunization, tobacco control, by country by year.
International Monetary Fund: World Economic Outlook Data
A huge database of easily downloadable data on global financial stability
Statista: Global Business and Data Platform
This paid site offers financial and COVID-19 insights and facts from more than 170 industries around the world.
Census: International Database
Population, growth rate, mortality, life expectancy and other measures for countries with at least 5,000 residents, from 1950 forward. Much of this information also can be found in Our World In Data.
Journalist’s Toolbox: Public Records
Public records databases from all over the world.
Journalist’s Toolbox: Global Journalism
United States
News
USAFacts.org
Download datasets and visualizations on hundreds of government databases. Data is cleaned and built by nonprofit organization started by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
DataHub.io
There are thousands of datasets from financial market data and population growth to cryptocurrency prices. If you don’t find what you are looking for ask the Data Concierge for a free quote to find the data for you.
Clery Center for Security on Campus
Campus crime data and compliance information.
US Dept. of Education: Campus Safety and Security
Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool
Download nationwide campus crime data.
National Center for Education Statistics Data Center
Nationwide data on colleges and universities.
Chronicle of Higher Education: Tracking Sexual Assault Investigation
Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool
Number of crimes, hate crimes, arrests, disciplinary actions and other safety date for each college, university and post-secondary program. Select “Download Data” and pick the most recent year.
Department of Education: Title IX investigations
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
Annual lists of incidents (with state ID); list of vaccines taken; list of symptoms
US Table of Overweight and Obesity (BMI)
Percentage of people by demographi in each state who are overweight or obese, by year, since 2011
CensusReporter.org
An independent project to make data from the American Community Survey easier to use. It is unaffiliated with the U.S. Census Bureau.
Big Local News: Census Data
Stanford University’s Journalism and Democracy Initiative and collects local data to discover the regional or national patterns that will yield stories with impact.
National Inventory of Dams (US)
Data on dams on each state and nationwide
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid: Nursing Home Health and Fire Safety Inspections
Summary information for inspections in the last three years, including dates of the three most recent inspections and counts of citations
Nursing home penalties
Nursing homes nationwide that have been fined or denied payment over the past three years
CDC: County-Level Health Data
Percentage of people in each county with certain health problems (arthritis, cancer, asthma, etc.)
Sports
Sports Reference
Audited stats for many US and international leagues.
Statista: Sports on US TV
Paid site. Top rated sports programs over the years.
Spotrac
The largest online sports team, and player contract resource on the internet. The site currently has financial information for MLB, the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS.
The Intercollegiate: Division I-A Athletic Dept. FOIA Directory
Find the FOIA contact for college sports programs
Extra Points FOIA Directory
A collection of college athletics related open records (contracts, budgets etc), free for everybody, acquired via FOIA. Others can contribute as well
Journalist’s Toolbox Sports Data
A deep page of link to sports databases from around the world
Business
SEC EDGAR Database
Look up quarterly and annual earnings reports and other data on publicly-traded companies.
Violation Tracker
The first wide-ranging database on corporate misconduct. Produced by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First, it covers banking, consumer protection, false claims, environmental, wage and hour, safety, discrimination, price-fixing, and other cases resolved by federal regulatory agencies and all parts of the Justice Department since 2000 — plus cases from state AGs and selected state regulatory agencies.
Guidestar
Paid site lets you search Form 990s
Candid
Look up form 990s for free (Guidestar contributes)
ProPublica Non-Profit Explorer
Quickly search Form 990s for free.
CharityWatch
Ranks charities and lists highest-paid execs, etc.
ProPublica: Dollars for Docs
Debunk those “faux experts” in medicine. Who is getting paid by the pharmaceutical companies and other corporations to endorse a medication or product?
ProPublica: Dollars for Profs
Debunk those “faux experts” by seeing who is receiving money from companies and non-profits.
FDA: Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts
Drugs and food (including pet food) recalled for health and other reasons. Search or download data since mid-2019
FDA: Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience Database (MAUDE)
Reports of adverse events involving medical devices (defibrillators, pacemakers, ventilators, etc.)
MedWatch
Safety alerts about medicines, biologics (blood), medical devices, cosmetics, food, etc.
Consumer Complaint Database
Complaints about credit cards, banks, loans, debt collectors. State and ZIP code of the complainant are listed but not the name.
Investigating Private Companies and Startups
Journalist’s Toolbox: Investigating Companies (Public and Private)
FormDs.com
Track investments into startups, growing businesses, hedge funds, and private equity firms. They do this by sorting, filtering and extracting critical information from the hundreds of SEC filings (called “Form Ds”) filed each day. The site processes SEC filings on a real-time basis and often learns about new investments before newspapers and online publications. You can search for people, company names, specific industries, or focus on regions or cities.
Other Resources
Data for Editors
From Mary Jo Webster at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, a series of slide decks, training videos and lessons to develop data editors. Targeted to assignment and managing editors who work with reporters on data-driven stories.
Data + Journalism 