You can easily find official statistics by adding .gov to your search. Let's say I wanted to investigate crimes in Las Vegas:
Keyword Search: crime statistics and Las Vegas site:.gov
Good for: Finding information on public policy, social policy, and the social sciences.
Contains: Index to literature.
Dates covered: 1972-present.
Good for: Investigating diverse perspectives environmental issues.
Contains: Books, journal articles, and reports about environmental issues.
Good for: Accessing information about North American cities.
Contains: Surveys, budgets, statistical records, case studies, planning documents, training manuals, policy guidelines, reports, and news.
An easy way to find government information (federal, state, and local) is to go to Google and limit your search to only government sources.
For example, let's say you want to focus on global warming--Type in "global warming" site:.gov to limit only to government resources.
You can also specify finding statistics on Google and limiting it to .gov sources.
For example, if you want to find out about recycling statistics, type in "recycling statistics" site:.gov
Good for: Researching U.S. legislative information.
Contains: Congressional publications, bills, laws, regulations, committee information, and more.
Dates covered: 1789-present.
Good for: Staying informed about current politics and new legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Contains: Weekly roundup of congressional activity.
Dates covered: 1983-current date.
Good for: Researching public policy and American government.
Contains: In-depth research on hot topics and legislative analysis.
Good for: Researching U.S. legislative history.
Contains: Congressional publications related to enacted laws.
Dates covered: 1929-present.
