Statistics & Data: Search for Statistics in Articles

Articles published in peer-reviewed journals may  use statistics to help support a hypothesis. Articles with statistics can help demonstrate how to incorporate statistics into your own academic writing. Look at the source the author used for these statistics; it may lead you to more sources for statistics or datasets.

You can search the Library's research databases for peer-reviewed articles that use statistics to support a position or argument. You may have to try several different searches to find relevant articles.

Peer-reviewed articles can be very valuable if you are struggling to locate statistics or data from a government site or database. It's best to keep an open mind because you may not find the exact statistics you're searching for but you might find something related or useable. It can be a lot like searching for a needle in a haystack. 

To start searching by keyword for articles that contain statistics, begin by selecting a subject-specific research database from the library's research home pages. You can access a particular topic from our Subject Resources page.

In the search boxes at the top of the page, type keywords that describe your topic. In one search box, use keywords for terms that can help indicate statistics, such as:

• findings
• results
• analysis
• data
• statistic*
  Using an asterisk (*) tells the database to look for words beginning with the root word you've used and any possible endings. Statistic* tells the database to look for statistic, statistics, statistical, etc.

 For example, if you're looking for statistics that show a link between preschool programs and literacy skills in young children, you could try the following keyword search in one of the Education databases:

First Search Box:

literacy

Second Search Box:

preschool

Third Search Box:

findings 

You can put related terms in the same search box when you use OR between these terms. For example:

findings OR data OR statistic* OR result OR analysis

For more help using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), explore the Library's Boolean Operators guide:

Some databases will offer a limiter that will allow you to restrict your search to statistical or data results only.

1. To begin, select a subject-specific research database from the Library website. (How do I find databases by subject?)
2. In the search boxes at the top of the page, type keywords that describe your topic.
3. Depending on the database you are using, there may be options to limit your search to articles that contain statistics. Not all databases will offer limiters for statistics. Look in the area under the search boxes for boxes like Document Type, Publication Type, or Supplemental Materials, and then choose options that might indicate statistics or data.

For example, In ProQuest databases, the Document Type menu allows you to limit your search to Statistics/Data Report: