Skyline College
Library

 

California Issues & Statistics
Research Links

Recommended Web Sites:
General California Statistical Information
California Health Statistics
California Education Statistics
California Economics Statistics
California State Budget Data
California Environment Statistics
San Francisco Statistics and Data

Databases for Finding Articles
Catalog for Finding Books

California Political, Social & Policy Issues:

California Policy Inbox
One-stop access to new public policy research about California, listed under the following categories Children and Families; Demography; Economy and Business; Education; Growth, Development, and Infrastructure; Health Care; Politics; Polls and Surveys; Public Finance; Resources and Environment; Security: Social Policy

California Political History Archive and Database
Chronicles California's election, redistricting and political history together with biographical information on state legislators and constitutional office holders since 1849


General California Statistical Information
:

Counting California
"...committed to enhancing California citizens' access to the growing range of social science and economic data produced by government agencies....Counting California's single interface enables users access to actual raw data compiled by federal, state, and local agencies, and also allows users to collate and integrate data by topic, geography, title, and provider." This is an attractive, powerful tool presenting information in a variety of formats. Many of the tables can be redrawn as graphs. Data can be download as .csv or .xml files. Includes Quick Facts for California and each county.

California Statistical Abstract
Data on social, economic, and physical aspects of the State from various government agencies, coordinated and issued annually by the California Department of Finance, Economic Research Unit.

California Demographics
The Demographic Research Unit of the California Department of Finance is designated as the single official source of demographic data for State planning and budgeting.  See especially: Reports and Research Papers

CCSRE Race and Ethnicity in California
Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity Demographics Report Series documents the current socioeconomic, educational, and demographic status of ethnic and racial minority populations in California. Census 2000 data were used to examine racial/ethnic diversity, residential segregation, household and family composition, language use, educational attainment, income, and poverty.

California Senate Office of Research
Reports on emerging state and federal issues from the State Senate's bipartisan research and strategic policy-planning unit.

IGS: Statewide Database
This is the raw data used for the California state and local legislative redistricting and reapportionment done after the census. Currently it consists of census data, Statement of Vote (SOV), and Statement of Registration (SOR) data for the 1990-1998 general elections and the 1998 primaries. Search for specific Data by election or geographic area. From the Institute of Governmental Studies Library at U.C. Berkeley.

Bay Area Census
Basic Census data for Bay Area cities and counties.

MTC DataMart
Various databases and reports produced by the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission covering: Regional Indicators; Travel Models; Census Data; Survey Data; Traffic Data; & GIS Data.

San Mateo County Statistics
The county website's statistics on the entire County and each of the individual cities.

Public Policy Institute of California
The Public Policy Institute of California provides independent, objective, and non-partisan research in the areas of population, economy, and governance and public finance. Its publications include reports, surveys, fact sheets, and demographic bulletins.

California Institute for Federal Policy Research
Extensive reports, links & other information on federal issues affecting California. Strong focus on budget and legislative issues.

California Research Bureau Reports
The California Research Bureau (CRB) provides assistance to the California government by providing research on various topics. Subjects vary from ethnic studies to education to computer usage reports to proposition and election information. Useful for anyone doing a study of California demography and issues. A selection of their reports, searchable by keyword in descriptions.
 

Digital Atlas of California - http://130.166.124.2/CApage1.html
A work in progress. Currently contains large maps for population and race, citizenship, income, poverty, and adult
educational attainment for metropolitan areas.

ERSys.com
Statistical information for California cities (& cities from all 50 states) on education, transportation, ethnicity and even current weather conditions plus other information such as radon levels, school districts, and shopping malls.

California Political Precinct Index
“The first known attempt to rate the political ideology of nearly all California precincts.”

American Factfinder
Latest statistical information from the U.S. Census Bureau.

General Statistical Resources on the Web: Comprehensive, annotated directory of the best resources for statistics on the Web. The place to start when you want to find a good source for statistics on most topics.

 

California Health Statistics:

State Health Facts Online: California
Latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Medi-Cal Policy Institute
An independent and nonpartisan source of information on California's Medicaid program, which provides health
care to low income individuals, the elderly, blind, and disabled. Includes several full-text publications on issues such as eligibility, delivery of care, financing and expenditures, and managed care. Participation data for each Medi-Cal program is available for all California counties.

EPICenter: California Injury Data Online
This site provides statistical tables of fatal and hospitalized nonfatal injuries for the state of California and California counties.

California Vital Statistics Data Tables
Several state tables cover various ranges between 1989 and 2002. County-specific tables include statistics on age of birth mother, infant birthweight, and deaths by cause of death (ten leading causes). From the California Center for Health Statistics.

 

California Education Statistics:

Chancellor's Office Data Mart
California community college statistics, including: Student Demographics, Student Program Awards, Student Services Programs, Program Retention/Success Rates For Credit Enrollments, Staffing Reports

Dataquest
Demographic data reported by the school district to the California Department of Education, includes location, legislative districts and members, school demographics, student counts, technology, alternative education enrollment, students by ethnic group, limited-English-proficient (LEP) students, certified and classified staff, teaching credentials, teachers by ethnic groups, teachers for LEP students, average class size, and links to STAR test results. Site also links to a glossary explaining the elements in the profile. Site is awkward to navigate. Read the instructions carefully.

API: Academic Performance Index
This Web site contains summary reports and information of the Academic Performance Index (API) for California schools, searchable by county, district, and school. Included are results for California Stanford 9 STAR tests, the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education (SABE/2) test results, score explanations and comparisons, and more. Data is presented in API Reporting Cycles and can be downloaded in DBF or ASCII format. From the California Department of Education, Office of Policy and Evaluation.

Children Now
Nonpartisan, independent voice for children, recognized nationally for its policy expertise and up-to-date information on the status of children, produces an annual California Report Card and accompanying County Data Book documenting how economic, health and other conditions affect children's learning and how California children are doing, county by county, in terms of their economic security, health, safety and educational outcomes.
 

Ed-Data Education Data Partnership - http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/
Fiscal, demographic and performance data on California's K-12 schools.

California Public Schools Guide (GreatSchools.net) - http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/go/CA
Excellent database for comparing public elementary, middle, or high schools in California. Created by an
independent, non-profit organization, GreatSchools database provides standardized test results, school district standards, demographics, and diversity information for each school. Many schools have expanded profiles, which include curriculum; the community and its culture; staffing; school climate and safety, and much more. Links are provided for individual schools' Web sites, too. This site also includes information about choosing schools, the enrollment process, and creating parent-school partnerships.

 

California Economics Statistics:

California Economic Indicators
Bimonthly summary of economic trends and data.
"Developments in California over the most recent months are reviewed in a brief text, and then summarized in current data tables which show changes over the previous year."

California Financial & Statistical Data
From the Department of Finance, includes California Statistical Abstract, California Economic Indicators,
Economic Report of the Governor, and more.

Children Now
Nonpartisan, independent voice for children, recognized nationally for its policy expertise and up-to-date information on the status of children, produces an annual California Report Card and accompanying County Data Book documenting how economic, health and other conditions affect children's learning and how California children are doing, county by county, in terms of their economic security, health, safety and educational outcomes.
 

 

California State Budget Data:

California Budget
Official government documents for the California state budget

California Budget – California Department of Finance
Current budget plus archives of budget-related documents and historical budgets

California Budget Project
Fact-based, nonpartisan analyses of state fiscal and tax policies and their implications for all Californians, especially low- and middle-income residents

California Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO)
“Serves as ‘eyes and ears’ for the Legislature to ensure that the executive branch is implementing legislative policy in a cost efficient and effective manner”

California School Finance: Budget and Funding: 2008-09 Budget
From EdSource, a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to clarify complex education issues and to promote thoughtful policies about public school improvement

California State Budget – University of California Institute of Governmental Studies
Links to the state budget, local government budgets, state budget process overview, reform proposals and relevant websites

California Local Government Finance Almanac
"Data, statistics, analyses, and articles on California city and county finance."

California Community College Budget Information
Links from San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1493



California Environment Statistics

CERES: California Environmental Resources Evaluation System - http://ceres.ca.gov/index.html
Information system developed by the California Resources Agency to facilitate access to a variety of electronic data describing California's rich and diverse environments.

California Environmental Protection Agency - http://www.calepa.ca.gov/

Information Center for the Environment - http://ice.ucdavis.edu/
A wide variety of environmental information from U.C. Davis's College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

 

San Francisco Statistics and Data

San Francisco Statistics
A wide variety of statistics accessible through the San Francisco Public Library’s Government Information Center

 

DataSF

Clearinghouse of datasets available from the City & County of San Francisco providing public access to San Francisco data

 

 

 

Article Databases:

Gale PowerSearch databases on campus or off-campus w/ library card
articles from academic journals, popular magazines, newspapers and reference book sources; excellent general periodical database. 

o        To narrow searches, use the Advanced search mode

o        PLEASE NOTE: When search results are first displayed, only magazine articles are shown, if available for your search.
Click on the “Journalstab to display academic journal articles on your topic; click on the "Bookstab for articles from books; click on the "Newstab for news articles.

Alt-Press Watch on campus or off campus w/ library card
Articles from about 175 magazines, newspapers & journals from alternative and independent presses.  info




Books:

The PLS Online Catalog is the online catalog to find books in Skyline Library and in all libraries in the Peninsula Library System. After clicking on the link above to access the catalog, follow the steps below:

  • Type search words (title, author and/or subject) in the first search box & click Submit.
  • The search results will show books and other materials in all libraries in the PLS system.
  • To Limit your results to books at Skyline College Library, scroll down to Limit to: Location: pull-down menu below the search boxes, scroll down in the Location: pull-down menu, select Skyline College & then click the Submit button.

 

 

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last revised: 11-17-09
by Eric Brenner, Skyline College, San Bruno, CA
These materials may be used for educational purposes. 
All commercial rights are reserved.
To contact the author, or send comments or suggestions, email: Eric Brenner at brenner@smccd.edu