Finding data for infographics and citing it

An infographic is only as good as its numbers, and readers can't check numbers they can't trace. Use data from organizations that publish their methods, check what each figure actually measures, and put a source line on the graphic itself. This guide covers where to look, what to check and how to cite.

Where to look first

Start with organizations whose job is to produce statistics and that publish how they do it:

• National statistics agencies. In the U.S., that includes the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (prices, wages, jobs, time use), the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Center for Health Statistics. Most countries have an equivalent national statistics office.
• International organizations. The World Bank, the OECD, the IMF, the UN statistics division, the World Health Organization and the International Telecommunication Union publish country-level data with documentation.
• Central banks. Interest rates, exchange rates and financial data. The St. Louis Fed's FRED database collects many U.S. and international series in one place, each linked to its original source.
• Large survey organizations. Pew Research Center, Gallup and similar groups publish questionnaires, sample sizes and margins of error alongside results.
• Peer-reviewed research. For scientific and medical topics, use the published paper, and prefer reviews or large studies over a single small one.
• Company filings. For business data, annual reports and regulatory filings are more reliable than press releases.

Company press releases, marketing surveys and "studies" without a method section are weaker sources. They can still be newsworthy, but say clearly who produced the number.

Check before you chart

For every number you plan to use, answer these questions in your working file:

1. Who produced it? An organization with a method page, or someone repeating it?
2. What exactly does it measure? Read the definition. "Internet users" might mean anyone who went online in the last three months. "Average income" might be a mean or a median, per person or per household.
3. Who was counted? Adults only? One country? Full-time workers? A survey of 1,000 people or a census?
4. When? The year the data describes and the year it was published can differ.
5. Has it been revised? Official statistics are often updated. Use the latest edition and note which one.
6. Is there uncertainty? Surveys have margins of error. Small differences may not be real.

Our smartphone ownership piece is a small example. The source has dozens of readings, some only a few weeks apart, and differences of a point or two between neighboring surveys are within the noise. We plotted a sparse set of points and said so.

Don't mix what can't be mixed

Many misleading infographics are built from accurate numbers that don't belong together:

• Two countries' figures with different definitions.
• Numbers from different years presented as if current.
• Money values from different decades with no inflation adjustment.
• Percentages with different bases ("percent of users" next to "percent of adults").

If you have to combine sources, say so on the graphic, and keep the comparison only if the definitions match closely.

Read the footnotes

The most useful part of a statistical table is often the small print under it. Footnotes tell you when a series changed its method, which years are preliminary, which categories were merged, and where a break in the data makes before-and-after comparisons unsafe. A chart that draws a smooth line across a method change can show a jump that never happened. When a footnote affects your chart, carry it onto the graphic as a short note, or start the chart after the break.

Write the source line

Every infographic needs a source line on the image itself. The page around it may not travel when the image is shared, downloaded or pinned. A good source line names:

• The organization.
• The dataset, report or survey.
• The year or edition.

Examples:

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey 2025.

Source: Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet. Survey dates shown as points.

Put it at the bottom in readable type. If a chart uses a different source from the rest of the piece, put a source line under that chart too. If you processed the data (calculated averages, adjusted for inflation, combined categories), add a short note: "Inflation-adjusted with CPI-U, 2024 dollars."

Cite fully on the page

Where the infographic is published, add a source list with links to the exact page or file you used, ideally with the access date. A short methods note helps for anything you calculated. This is also where you can credit icon sets, photos and fonts that need attribution under their licenses.

For academic or formal reports, follow the citation style the publication uses. Most styles have a format for datasets that includes the publisher, title, year, version and link.

Licenses and permissions

Facts and data are generally not protected by copyright, but databases, text, charts and images can be. Things to check:

• Government data. U.S. federal works are generally public domain. Other governments vary; many use open licenses that require attribution.
• International organizations. Many publish data under open licenses with attribution. Read the terms.
• Survey organizations. Usually allow reuse of findings with credit. Their charts and text are a different matter.
• Other people's charts. Redrawing a chart from the underlying data with your own design is normally fine with a citation. Copying the design itself is not.
• Icons, photos and fonts. Each has a license. Keep a record.

If in doubt, ask the publisher, or use a different source.

Keep a source log

The simplest habit that saves the most time: a spreadsheet with one row per number, listing the value, the unit, the source, the link, the date accessed and any notes on definitions. When an editor, client or reader asks where something came from, you can answer in a minute. When the source publishes a revision next year, you know exactly what to update.

Questions