Howdy and welcome to this research guide, which will serve as a primer on conducting local research in the Austin metropolitan area using online resources, as well as provide some basic information about the metropolitan area, also known as Greater Austin.
You can use a variety of resources to find what you need and most of them are completely free to access. We will discuss how to engage in research on four aspects: demographics, economic, history, and geography.
Each section will introduce you to resources and teach you how to research those aspects to find the information you need. You can navigate using the navigation bar on the left to hop from one section to the next and you can go through each section in any order.
You should have access to a desktop computer and stable internet, since this guide will cover primarily online resources.
While not required, it is helpful to have an idea in mind: do you want to learn more about Williamson County, do you want a closer look at the nearby city of Round Rock, or perhaps you wish to explore a specific part of Austin?
Your questions will help you identify what you want to find in the resources we cover in this guide. If you want some basic information about Greater Austin, feel free to start with that section before moving onto one of the three sections on researching an aspect.
Get a basic understanding of what's in the Austin metropolitan area and maybe get ideas of where you want to research first!
Learn how to navigate through digital collections and other online resources to discover local history.
Learn how to find demographic and economic data using online resources such as the U.S. Census Bureau.
Learn where to find maps of the Austin area as well as climate information and resources for geographic data.