What data is out there? How do you figure out who creates it? The resources below will help you figure out where to start looking for data produced by the government.
Whatever area of the country (or world) you're interested in there are local entities (governmental, non-governmental and quasi-governmental) that collect and make data available. Search for local governments, community development organizations, regional planning commissions or government organizations, etc. Below are a few resources for data and statistics on the St. Louis Region.
Some important sources of Decennial Census and American Community Survey data. See slides to the right for a brief introduction to the differences between Decennial Census and American Community Survey Data. For more information, see the U.S. Census Information guide.
Will data analysis be part of your project? Using SPSS, R or another statistical software package? Great! But where will you find your data? Try the sources below, or contact your librarian!