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Statistical Data: Missing U.S. Government Data

Sources of statistical data.

Since the start of the new administration on January 20, 2025, many government websites have been changed and government data have been removed. This page records ongoing efforts to track changes in government information and to preserve government data on other sites and in other repositories. If you know of other resources or tools related to U.S. Government data preservation, especially those helpful to people in your own field, please get in touch with Linnea Minich at l.minich@bowdoin.edu.

Tracking Missing Information

Library Guides on Missing Data and Recovery

Finding Missing Government Data

Alternative Sources for Government Data

Search for Previous Versions of Websites

To find an archived version of a particular government website on the Wayback Machine, add wayback.com after the .gov 

Examples

Simple domain:
www.epa.gov → www.epa.govwayback.com

Specific page:
www.whitehouse.gov/administration → www.whitehouse.govwayback.com/administration

Complex URL:
www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2 →
www.congress.govwayback.com/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2

What can you do?

Best practices

Lots of copies keep stuff safe (LOCKSS)

MIT provides a checklist for US federal data backups that includes identifying the data you're working with, confirming availability, and making backups. Now is a good time to download data you want or may want to use in future projects.

 

Acknowledgements

We relied heavily on work done by others in creating this page, especially the Hamilton College research guide and the Data Rescue Project website. Thanks to all the librarians, researchers, and interested and invested others who are supporting access to government data.