This ALA editions reference guide for data sources is a current look at essential resources for beginner researchers and students. The title is largely broken down into general concepts and also subject-specific chapters, including agriculture, earth science, economics, health care, political science and spatial data. The audience of this book is geared mainly to public librarians and high school librarians, or alternatively academic librarians with no specific data-geared focused position or department.
The sources provided in the book are for the most part freely available online resources, with a negligible number of listings requiring the user to either request access to use the data or incur a fee involved with usage. The majority of the resources are English-oriented, with a few exceptions which are noted. The first chapter outlines the main framework and basics of researching data, and also highlights the main public agencies that frequently gather and publish data, focused mainly on the United States and the United Nations. There is an emphasis throughout the title on Western topics and locations; the book does not include much information on non-Western countries. The author also clearly mentions the numerous sources that either do not provide access to their data, or charge a fee for access and use.
The content is clearly formatted and consistent throughout the title and also within each chapter, with sections indicating the major and minor resources identified by sub-topic. Each chapter includes a brief introduction to the topic contained within a few paragraphs. Basic and general concepts are also defined throughout, providing researchers with some useful information. Sources have one to two paragraphs to provide a brief, succinct summary. Some chapters are more specific topics within the main concepts, such as Economics-Commodities and Political Science-War and Peace. In addition, there is also a beginning chapter outlining general-purpose data sources, those resources that could be relevant to a number of topics and subject areas.
The title has many small aspects throughout to help out the novice researcher. Notes are located at the end of most chapters, and often provide some further insight into the topic. Further, tips on how to access each resource, and also whether the data are provided in a raw format or if the data have been analysed before the researcher can access the information, are also provided. The final chapter also includes last-ditch sources to consider, such as general websites and resources, if the other resources are not pertinent. Another helpful section towards the end of the publication is an appendix on how to cite data sources, which would also be quite useful to the general novice or early researcher. As none of the major citation styles currently has information on citing data, this is a helpful mechanism for students at any stage. In addition, the last appendix provides a suggestion for open-source software for online data dissemination.
This title would work very well in public libraries or high school library collections, being an affordable work with a solid introduction to a number of topics and up-to-date lists of mainly freely available resources. While this is not an exhaustive resource of data sources, it does provide a solid starting guide for novices. The Reference Guide to Data Sources may also be valuable for researchers who are unable to access expensive databases or research funds, as the focus is clearly on free or inexpensive resources.
