Having trouble accessing government information? See the Libraries’ guide to Alternative Sources for Federal Information and Data.
GEOG 392: Research Methods in Geography: Home
Relevant Databases
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Articles PlusDiscover information on any topic from the UNC library collections.
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GEOBASECovers worldwide literature on geography, geology, ecology, and related disciplines. Over 2,000 journals are fully covered, and an additional 3,000 are selectively covered. More than 2,000 books, monographs, conference proceedings, and reports are also covered.
Subjects include: cartography, hydrology, climatology, meteorology, energy, paleontology, environment, petrology, geochemistry, photogrammetry, geomorphology, sedimentology, geophysics, volcanology. (Source: vendor website.) -
Google ScholarGoogle Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports.
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses GlobalIndexes US dissertations from 1861 with full text available from 1997; masters theses covered selectively including some full text. Citations for dissertations from 1980 include 350-word abstracts, while masters' theses from 1988 have 150-word abstracts. Selectively covers dissertations from Great Britain and other European universities for recent years.
In addition to this database, the full text of the majority of UNC theses and dissertations from 2006, and all beginning in 2008, are freely available electronically from the UNC Library: Dissertations | Theses -
Sage Research MethodsSAGE Research Methods (SRM) is a research methods tool that allows researchers to explore methods concepts.
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ScopusA large citation and abstracting database providing comprehensive coverage of the peer-reviewed journal and conference literature, with links to full-text where available through the library; includes scientific, technical, medical, social science and arts and humanities disciplines and indexes over 20,500 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers including over 340 book series. Like Web of Science, Scopus allows researchers to perform citation searches to see how many times a work has been cited, by whom, and to rank searches by times cited, for the period 1996 -present, as well as its curated index of over 375 scientific web pages and over 24 million patents.
Data Sources
Miscellaneous
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data.govThe home of the U.S. Government’s open data
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GADM (Global Administrative Areas)GADM provides maps and spatial data for all countries and their sub-divisions.
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GapminderGlobal data for a variety of development, health, wealth, and many other indicators.
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PolicyMapAn online data and mapping tool that enables government, commercial, non-profit and academic institutions to access data about communities and markets across the US.
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SimplyAnalyticsA web-based mapping application that enables users to quickly and easily create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using extensive demographic, business and marketing data.
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Spatial Data Online (UNC Libraries)There is an enormous amount of spatial data available on the web. This guide was created to help patrons find data that best suit their needs.
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Sage DataAccess data on economics, crime, health, population, energy, the environment, and more in a single interface. Manipulate data; create charts, graphs, tables, maps. Data come from U.S. and international sources. For help, see the user guide.
Agriculture
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National Land Cover Database (NLCD)Provides nationwide data on land cover and land cover change at a 30m resolution.
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USDA Economic Research ServiceProvides data related to the food landscape, food access, and other resources.
Climate
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Centre for Environmental Data AnalysisGlobal gridded monthly time-series climate data
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Climate Change Knowledge PortalThe Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CCKP) provides global data on historical and future climate, vulnerabilities, and impacts.
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GIS for ClimateThe GIS for Climate Hub provides a variety of resources to get you started in climate analysis or help develop more advanced workflows.
Demographics
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Census Data Resources GuideThis is a guide to resources for manipulating and extracting census data.
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IPUMSIPUMS provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space.
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Social ExplorerCreate maps and reports of demographic data from 1940-2010.
Economics
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Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Economic AccountsThe Local Area Personal Income & Employment option provides access to personal income and employment summaries, wages, farm income and more.
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Bureau of Labor StatisticsThe Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making
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LED On The MapFrom the Census Bureau, shows where people live and where they work in great detail. See the tutorials for more information.
Education
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Kids Count Data CenterKIDS COUNT is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and a premier source of data on children and families.
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National Center for Education StatisticsNCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.
Environment
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EPA EnviroAtlasEasy to use, interactive mapping application that provides ready access to 500+ maps and multiple analysis tools.
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EPA Environmental Dataset GatewayThe EPA's official open data catalog.
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EPA Environmental JusticeIncludes mapping and data tools, such as EJSCREEN.
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EPA Where you liveSearch the EPA database to learn about environmental conditions in your community.
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FEMA National Risk IndexThe National Risk Index is a dataset and online tool to help illustrate the United States communities most at risk for 18 natural hazards.
Health
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Data & statistics by Topic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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National Center for Health StatisticsNCHS is designated as one of the nation's principle statistical agencies.
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Neighborhood AtlasThe Neighborhood Atlas website was created in order to freely share measures of neighborhood disadvantage with the public, including educational institutions, health systems, not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies, in order to make these metrics available for use in research, program planning, and policy development.
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North Carolina State Center for Health StatisticsExcellent source for health data for North Carolina, typically available at the county level.
COVID
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Earth Observing Dashboard - NASA, ESA, JAXADashboard that provides info on indirect impacts of COVID 19 (ex: green house emissions, air quality, etc.).
Sample Books about Research
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Practical Guide to Needs Assessment
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Call Number: e-bookIncludes ready-to-use templates, case studies, and tips for to assess needs for individuals, teams, organizations, government agencies, and communities. Learn how to manage and report a needs assessment project and access professional ethical guidelines. -
An Introduction to Survey Research
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Call Number: e-bookLearn how to understand and use surveys effectively, avoid the pitfalls stemming from bad survey construction and inappropriate methods, how best to identify the information needed and the best approach to get that information. Each chapter focuses on one of the key components of constructing and carrying out a survey. -
Community-Based Qualitative Research
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Call Number: e-bookThis text integrates theoretical perspectives with guidelines for designing and implementing community-based qualitative research projects. Coverage of participatory research designs and approaches is complemented by chapters on specific aspects of this research process, such as developing relationships and sharing findings to strengthen programs. Includes case studies and real-life examples. -
Indigenous Statistics
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Call Number: e-bookIn the first book ever published on Indigenous quantitative methodologies, Maggie Walter and Chris Andersen open up a major new approach to research across the disciplines and applied fields. While qualitative methods have been rigorously critiqued and reformulated, the population statistics relied on by virtually all research on Indigenous peoples continue to be taken for granted as straightforward, transparent numbers. -
SAGE Quantitative Research Methods
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Call Number: e-bookFor more than 40 years, SAGE has been one of the leading international publishers of works on quantitative research methods in the social sciences. This new collection provides readers with a representative sample of the best articles in quantitative methods that have appeared in SAGE journals as chosen by W. Paul Vogt, editor of other successful major reference collections such as Selecting Research Methods (2008) and Data Collection (2010). -
Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals in Education and Other Fields
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Call Number: HA29 .V58 2007This concise text discusses a wide range of quantitative research methods, including advanced techniques such as logic regression, multilevel modeling, and structural equation modeling. Because the text emphasizes concepts rather than mathematics and computation formulas, it is accessible to a wide range of users of research. The text discusses the quantitative designs and analytic techniques most needed by students in the social sciences and in applied disciplines such as education, social work, and business. It teaches what the various methods mean, when to use them, and how to interpret their results.
Librarian Profile
UNC Catalog Search with Links
Scholarly vs. Popular Materials
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Scholarly and Popular MaterialsChart showing differences between scholarly and popular materials from NCSU Libraries.
Research Design
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Sage Research MethodsLibrary of research methods tools. Learn about quantitative and qualitative methods in the Little Green Book and Little Blue Book series, practice data analysis, and use the Project Planner tool to organize research projects. Also included are social research case studies, videos, datasets for teaching and instruction, and analytical tools.
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What makes a good research question?Handout from Duke University's (yes, Duke) Thompson Writing Program Writing Studio. Has good guidelines for and examples of research questions in the social sciences, but much applies to the humanities as well.
Citing
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Citation BuilderCreate citations in the correct format using this web form.
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ZoteroUse this web-based tool to manage the citations for your research projects.