Research Guides: Political Science: Data

Data Resources

Note: Data files are commonly subject to restricted use under the terms of the licensing agreements signed by the Library. In many cases, use is limited to members of the univerisity community and for research and academic purposes only.

The list below includes some of the commonly used resources but there are many many more sources for data. Email libhelp@brocku.ca for support.

ODESI: Ontario Data Documentation, Extraction Service and Infrastructure Initiative This link opens in a new window
This service from Scholars Portal provides access to Statistics Canada datasets, datafiles from Gallup Canada and other polling companies, the Canadian Public Opinion Archive (CORA), public-domain files such as the Canadian National Election Surveys, and selected files from ICPSR. A variety of tutorials are available to assist users. Brock faculty, staff and students only.
Help Guide

Open Data (Government of Canada)
"Data.gc.ca provides one-stop access to the Government of Canada’s searchable open data and open information, together with open dialogue, as part of the federal government’s commitment to enhance transparency and accountability."
DLI (Data Liberation Initiative)
The DLI is a project within Statistics Canada to make socio-economic microdata available to researchers and academics. Some DLI datasets may be downloaded directly; others must be requested from the DLI contact at Brock (Nicole Stradiotto). Browse the complete list of DLI surveys.
Natural Resources Canada: Data and Analysis
Links to data sources are provided under each subtopic: Energy, Forests, Minerals, etc. If you don't see the word "data" look for "statistics", "resources", "publications".
ICPSR: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
ICPSR has approximately 10,000 files of US and international (including some Canadian) quantitative research data files. View ICPSR's Data Use Tutorial. Brock faculty, staff and students only.
Note: A new user to ICPSR must create an account using any on-campus computer workstation to gain off-campus access.
Research Data Centre Program (Statistics Canada)
Statistics Canada's Research Data Centres (RDCs) are part of a national university initiative to allow access to Statistics Canada master files with a view to strengthen social research capacity and support social and economic policy analysis in Canada. The closest RDC to Brock University is the McMaster RDC which provides researchers secure access to detailed Statistics Canada data. Please see their website for the application process.

Data Citation Index This link opens in a new window
Search for datasets and studies linked from published articles or available through select data repositories. In some cases, only metadata are available.