Journalism - J4450 Reporting and Writing I

All levels of government collect data that can be very useful to journalists and strategic communication professionals.  This page provides links to local, county, state, federal and international governmental sources where you can locate demographic, economic, business, health, climate and many other datasets.

Columbia, MO Official Website (http://www.como.gov)

• Como.gov site map (provides an overview of what is included on this site)
• Columbia, MO City Facts and Demographics (Columbia Budget Document)
• Columbia, MO Quick Facts (U. S. Census Bureau)  
• U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Columbia, MO. Columbia, MO's "Economy at a Glance"

Boone County, MO - Official Boone County MO Website  (http://showmeboone.com)

• Boone County Officials (top navigation bar under "Departments" tab)
• Boone County Commission Website
• Showmeboone.com Site Map - (last link on left navigation bar-provides an overview of what information is available on this site)
• Boone County Indicators
• Boone County Health Assessment

Columbia and Boone County Research Guide created by the Government Documents Librarian

State of Missouri Official Website (http://www.mo.gov)

State Manual (Blue book) 2021-2022 

Missouri Government Research Guide created by the Government Information Librarian

• List of State Agencies
• Elected Officials:  Executive and Legislative Branches
• Missouri Courts - Official MO Judicial Branch of State Government
  • Missouri CaseNet - Missouri State Courts Automated Case Management System
• MO.gov Social Media Directory
• Missouri Attorney General
• Missouri Secretary of State
• Missouri State Legislature
  • Joint Bill Tracking
  • MO House of Representatives
  • MO Senate
  • Missouri "Blue Book" 2021-2022
• MERIC (MO Economic Research & Information Center)
• Missouri Census Data Center
• Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis (OSEDA)
• Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Data and Statistics
• Missouri Public Records Search
• Missouri State Auditor (audit reports, property tax rates, TIFs, financial reports by county)
• Missouri State Highway Patrol Statistical Analysis Center (crime data, sex offenders, etc.)
• Open Missouri Project (David Herzog's RJI Project - connecting people with Missouri data sets)
• Data.MO.gov - MO data repository

State Database Project - databases created by each state

U.S. Federal Government Website (http://www.usa.gov)

Federal Government Research Guide - created by the Government Documents Librarian

• Executive Branch
• Legislative Branch
  • House of Representatives
  • Senate
  • Congress.gov - Library of Congress' legislative information service
    • Congressional Research Services Reports Search
    • Other Sources for Congressional Research Services Reports (CRS)
• Judicial Branch
• Federal Agencies
• Prices & Wages Guide from 1700's to date - created by the Government Documents Librarian
• New York Times Mapping America:  Every City, Every Block  Mapping tool for race/ethnicity, income, education, housing and families.
• Data.gov part of the open government initiative, it allows the public to easily find, download, and use data sets that are generated and held by the Federal Government.
• United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Historical Tables - (find out how many times the debt ceiling has been raised (table 7.3), etc.)
• 2010 Census - U. S. Census Bureau
  • Census Quick Facts population, housing, geographic and economic information
  • American Community Survey an ongoing statistical survey that samples a small percentage of the population every year
• Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Tools sales/inventories/services survey/new home sales/construction spending/retail trade)
• U. S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) -Economic indicators, etc.
  • National Economic Accounts from the BEA
• Statistical Abstract of the United States 1878-2011 (also called the National Data Book)
• FBI Uniform Crime Reports
• Government Printing Office Fdsys - digital database of government documents
• Census of Agriculture data/statistics
• Climate Data from the National Climate Data Center (NCDC)
• Data.dc.gov searches District of Columbia government databases

International Government Documents Research Guide created by the Government Documents Librarian

• International Database (U.S. Census)
• CIA World Factbook  - global country data aggregated by the CIA
• United Nations Statistics Division
• OECD - Global economic and employment data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
• World Bank Data- The World Bank provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
• International Monetary Fund Data - created in 1945, The World Bank is an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
• Nationmaster.com An Australian data aggregator of global government data, visualizes global statistics.
• Socrata searches government data

• Missouri Counties - Government 
• Missouri QuickFacts - Search by County
• Missouri Counties by Population Data 
• Missouri Census Data Center - County Fact Sheets
• Mid Missouri Regional Planning Commission

• Missouri County History Project

Counties for the following cities/towns/villages

• Mexico, Mo - Audrain County
  • Mexico, Mo. - City Data
• Moberly, Mo. - Randolph County 
  • Moberly, Mo. - City Data
• Fulton, Mo. - Calloway County 
  • Fulton, Mo. - City Data
• Fayette, Mo. - Howard County
  • Fayette, Mo. - City Data
• Boonville, Mo. - Cooper County
  • Boonville, Mo. - Data
• Ashland, Mo. - Boone County 
  • Ashland, Mo. - Data
• Hallsville, Mo. - Boone, County
  • Hallsville, Mo. - Data
• Sturgeon, Mo. - Boone County
  • Sturgeon, Mo. - Data
• Rocheport, Mo. - Boone County 
  • Rocheport, Mo. - Data
• Centralia, Mo. - Boone County
  • Centralia, Mo. - Data
• Harrisburg, Mo. - Boone County
  • Harrisburg, Mo. - Data
• Auxvasse, Mo. - Calloway County
  • Auxvasse, Mo. - Data
• Huntsdale, Mo. - Boone County
  • Huntsdale, Mo. - Data
• Eldon, Mo. - Miller County 
  • Eldon, Mo. - Data
• Holts Summit, Mo. - Calloway County
  • Holts Summit, Mo. - Data
• Pierpont, Mo. - Boone County 
  • Pierpont, Mo. - Data