Research Guides: SSW627: Agency & Community Practice: Community Research

Tips for Community Research

In addition to the resources listed on this page be sure to check out:

Local social media accounts
Organization and coalition websites
Local government webpages and records [usa.gov searches local, state, federal sites]
Local legislators' websites

Pioneer Valley Data - Community Profiles "Looking for information on a specific municipality or county in the Valley? Our Community Profiles will give you a snapshot of important info on each city, town, and county."
Regional Racial Justice Resources (UMass Amherst - School of Public Health) The Western Massachusetts Health Equity Network (WMHEN) is hosting this landing page for Racial Justice Work in Western Massachusetts.
Resources for Racial Justice in the Pioneer Valley (PV Grows) A list of racial justice oriented organizations and events currently active in the Pioneer Valley.
Western Mass. Groups & Projects (Racial Justice Rising/ Mass Slavery Apology)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - Affiliates
Black Lives Matter - Chapters
The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights - Coalition Members "Our members — which have grown from 30 civil and human rights organizations at our founding to more than 200 today — differ in size, scope, and structure. But what transcends our differences and unites The Leadership Conference coalition is our enduring common purpose: full equality for all."
NAACP - Find your Local Unit With over two thousand local units nationwide, it is easy to get involved with the NAACP in your community.
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) - Chapter and Affiliates
Southerners on New Ground - Our Chapters (SONG) SONG builds a beloved community of LGBTQ people in the South who are ready and willing to do our part to challenge oppression in order to bring about liberation for ALL people.
UNIDOS US Affiliate Network "Our Affiliates are community-based organizations that directly serve the Latino population across the country. They know the practical concerns and policy issues that affect their constituencies and are engaged in implementing innovative solutions."

Common Core of Data (NCES) The Common Core of Data (CCD) is a program of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics that annually collects fiscal and non-fiscal data about all public schools, public school districts and state education agencies in the United States.
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) "The primary source for data on colleges, universities, and technical and vocational postsecondary institutions in the United States."
Youth Online Analyse data from the Centers for Disease Control - including the the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), an annual public health survey of middle school and high school students.

Census Quick Facts - by Location
Esri Tapestry Lifestyle profiles by Zipcode.
Google Earth "Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D representation of Earth based on satellite imagery."
Pioneer Valley Data - Community Profiles "Looking for information on a specific municipality or county in the Valley? Our Community Profiles will give you a snapshot of important info on each city, town, and county."

Social Explorer 1790+ This link opens in a new window Easy access to demographic information about the U.S. Off-campus users: first click in upper right corner - Professional Edition provided by Smith College - and create a personal account for full functionality.

Census Quick Facts - by Location
Common Core of Data (NCES) The Common Core of Data (CCD) is a program of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics that annually collects fiscal and non-fiscal data about all public schools, public school districts and state education agencies in the United States.
Data & Statistics at USA.gov Organized by topic.
Data.gov The gateway to statistics from U.S. federal agencies.
Explore Census Data The primary way to access Census Bureau data, including the latest releases from the 2018 American Community Survey and 2017 Economic Census and the upcoming 2020 Census and more.
Statistical Abstract of the United States [ProQuest] Data on population, economics, and more, compiled annually, 1878 to 2020
Youth Online Analyse data from the Centers for Disease Control - including the the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), an annual public health survey of middle school and high school students.

Access World News - USA Search Current and archived news content including local, state, and national newspapers, broadcast transcripts, news wires, news blogs, video, etc. Use the USA Source Locator Map to search by a geographic location.

Daily Hampshire Gazette [NewsBank] 1994+ This link opens in a new window Covers local news, sports, and classifieds for Northampton and surrounding towns.

ipl2 Newspapers & Magazines U.S. newspapers by state.
Google News Search for recent news, limit by topic / newspaper name / location, etc. Set up an Alert to receive updates on your search. For historical coverage look for "Archives" on the results screen, and set a "Custom Range" of dates.

New York Times, 1851+ This link opens in a new window Full text access to current issues and a complete archive (does not include The Crossword). The first time you click on this link, you will be prompted to create your own New York Times account, using your Smith email address. After that you can go directly to nytimes.com or use the NYTimes app from anywhere, on any device and gain full access with the login you've created. Spanish and Chinese language editions also available. Faculty and staff need to refresh their account annually.