LibGuides: BOS 101: Boston Childhoods: Finding Popular Sources

Statistics and Public Data

Administration for Children Families Statistics & Research: Children's Bureau The Children's Bureau is an office of the Administration for Children & Families (a government agency that compiles statistics and funds research with other agencies). Provides state and national data. Includes statistics on adoption and foster care; child abuse and neglect; and child welfare.
Administration on Aging: Statistics This information is a wide variety of statistical information about the growing population of people 65+.
Boston Indicators Project A project of the Boston Foundation, that helps facilitate an understanding Boston and its neighborhoods in a regional, national and global context. Includes granular statistics about Boston neighborhoods.
ChildStats: Forum on Child and Family Statistics The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum) is a collection of 22 Federal government agencies involved in research and activities related to children and families. The Forum's annual report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, provides the Nation with a summary of national indicators of child well-being and monitors changes in these indicators over time.
Ending Homelessness in Boston Find information on the services and programs available to homeless people in Boston, as well as data and reports on homelessness in the city.
National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (NCVAS) supports planning, analysis, and decision-making activities through the collection, validation, analysis, and dissemination of key statistics on Veteran population and VA programs.
National Institute of Mental Health Understanding the scope and treatment of mental health problems in the US is central to NIMH's mission. Easily navigable resources highlight a collection of NIMH's best data on the prevalence, treatment, and costs of mental disorders.
SAMHSA: Data, Outcomes and Quality A collection of data, surveys, and other publications organized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Find statistics, reports, and programs for homeless people from federal, state, local, and non-profit agencies.
The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS)
DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response This website is the Department of Defense's resource for people who deal with or have been affected be sexual assault.
Trafficking in Persons Report The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking.
Department of Homeland Security Search here for statistics on immigration-related topics, human trafficking and more.

Child Advocacy Organizations

The ABCs of Evaluating Websites

If you’re trying to evaluate a website, keep these ABCs in mind as you review your sources for quality:

Authority - Is the website's author listed along with his/her credentials? Usually a URL with .edu, .org or.gov is more reliable than.com and .net

Bias - Is the website objective, presenting both sides of an issue? Or, is the information presented to sway the audience to a particular point of view? Who is the audience? A certain political group, adults, children, researchers? Depending on your purpose for using the website, the intended audience needs to be taken into consideration.

Currency - Is the website current, providing the 'created' date and 'last updated' information?

Note: One or more of the ABCs may be more important in evaluating a website, depending on the information you need. For example, medical and scientific information usually needs to be current. If you are trying to take a stand on an issue, a biased database may be acceptable as long as it is coming from a reliable source (authority).

Fact Checking Websites (video)

Google Search Tips

You may already be familiar with searching in Google to find just about any kind of information you could want. Be judicious about the sources you find through Google, especially if you might use them for an assignment. To help you find quality grey source websites you can use a top-level domain search to specify what kind of sites you want Google to target in your results.

For example:

.edu (education)
.gov (government)
.org (organization)

Boston at a Glance

DataCommon

The MetroBoston DataCommon provides a wealth of information about the region’s people and communities through a variety of topics -- from arts and education to the environment and transportation.

Boston Redevelopment Authority: Research Publications

The BPDA's Research department compiles and analyzes current, historical, and comparative data on the city of Boston. The department conducts research on Boston's economy, population, and commercial markets

Boston Redevelopment Authority: Frequently Requested Information

This page features publications covering the most requested economic and demographic data for Boston.

Boston Redevelopment Authority: Maps & GIS

View maps of demographic, economic, and other data for the City of Boston. You can also use the BostonMaps Demographics Atlas to explore data for individual neighborhoods.

City of Boston Immigrant Resources

Resources for legal aid, community resources, and ESOL directories.

Boston Public Schools: Facts & Figures

Data and reports about BPS

Crowdsourced neighborhoods of Boston

Crowdsourced neighbrohood information and interactive maps

Health Data Tools and Statistics

Links to tons of health statistic reports and tools

This pictorial essay: Health Inequalities in Boston by T-Stopsis an engaging, visual way to connect health inequalities to Boston neighborhoods. These articles are the sources used to build the visual elements.

Boston Public School at-a-glance

Boston Newspapers

Below are links to the current and historical versions of the newspapers that serve the city of Boston.

Boston Globe Daily Digital Edition
The library provides complete access to BostonGlobe.com for all current students, staff, and faculty members. Included are today's headlines and the complete digital edition of the daily newspaper.
Boston Globe 1980-Present
This link will send you to a searchable database of the contents of the Boston Globe from 1980-present. This database includes the full text of articles published in the Globe but it is not an exact reproduction of how they appeared in print. For exact reproductions of current articles, see the daily digital edition above. For exact reproductions of older articles, see the Boston Globe historical edition below.
Boston Globe Historical
This database includes the full text and images from articles published in The Boston Globe from 1872-1979. Use this database to find news, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, and birth and marriage announcements as well as historical photos, stock photos and advertisements. The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, from cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files.

Boston Herald
Find current articles in the Boston Herald at this link.
Boston Herald, 1997-2010
This link will send you to a searchable database of the contents of the Boston Herald from 1997-2010. This database includes the full text of articles published in the Herald but it is not an exact reproduction of how they appeared in print.

Boston Magazines

Boston Magazine
For more than 40 years, Boston magazine’s experienced writers, editors, and designers have captured all sides of the city with award-winning and insightful writing, and groundbreaking reporting and design.
The Improper Bostonian
The Improper reports on the people, places and things that make Boston a world-class city in an insightful, irreverent and colorful manner.
Boston Review
The Boston Review promotes the discussion of a range of topics that extends from politics and economics to ethical and religious thought, from philosophy and science to the imaginative exploration of human experience in great fiction and poetry.
Boston Spirit Magazine
Boston Spirit is a magazine for the gay and lesbian community in New England featuring articles on LGBT leaders in business, politics, fashion, and more.