How to Find Reliable Statistics

A post last week contained an excerpt from Carl Bialik's excellent Wall Street Journal article pointing out that Americans have a weak grasp of basic statistics. Earlier today, I was on Patt Morrison's KPCC radio show, along with Mr. Bialik. An excellent question came up: where can one find good, reliable statistics about public issues?  Here are a few links that may help:

• Statistical Abstract of the United States, the best single volume of statistics on just about everything.  Alas, in a cost-cutting move, the Commerce Department has decided to stop publication.  Still, the existing volumes are a great starting point for historical data.
• Bureau of the Census does much more than simply count Americans every ten years.  The Bureau collects data on a variety of topics, including poverty, housing, and voter turnout. 
• CalFacts, data about our state. from the Office of Legislative Analyst.
• The Polling Report, an up-to-date compilation of national survey data.
• The Center for Responsive Politics, the most user-friendly source of federal campaign-finance data.
• Office of Management and Budget offers the president's proposed budgets, along with historical budget information.  The Congressional Budget Office is another great source of federal budget data and analysis.
• The National Center for Education Statistics is exactly what it sounds like:  the Education Department's compilation of statistics on education from kindergarten through graduate school.
• The National Center for Health Statistics, run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides data on illnesses, injuries, and other health matters.
• The Bureau of Justice Statistics is all about crime and law enforcement.