Social Science Data
For quantitative analysis
Data Services
The Data Services Office in the Bartle Library Reference Department provides numeric data for social science research. For assistance contact Dave Vose, ICPSR Official Representative, Dave Vose, (607) 777-4907.
Services include:
- Maintaining university affiliations to the ICPSR, European Consortium of Political Research, and New York State Data Center Program (U.S. Bureau of the Census).
- Locating and purchasing, data resources for research and instructional use.
- Transferring data between platforms and formats using tools such as Stat/Transfer.
Numeric Data Available to the BU Community
ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research)
- ICPSR
Data Archive
ICPSR data can be downloaded by BU researchers that access ICPSR through the campus network or remotely by authenticating for resources from the Libraries' web pages. - These ICPSR datasets have web-based extractors and/or are freely accessible
to all:
General Social Survey: Data and Information Retrieval System
The Panel Study of Income Dynamics
Publication-Related Archive - Statisitical manuals are available in the Data Services Office. Study codebooks may be downloaded from the ICPSR web site. Print copies of codebooks not yet online are also available in Data Services.
SOCIONET (These data sets are available on CD-ROM in the Bartle Library Reference Department)
- Search database abstracts and variables
- AIDS/STD 11 Studies, 20 Data Sets, 14,400+ variables
- DISABILITY in the U.S. 16 Studies, 29 Data Sets, 15,800+ variables
- AMERICAN FAMILY 14 Studies, 36 Data Sets, 20,000+ variables
- ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY & PREGNANCY PREVENTION 150 Studies, 234 Data Sets, 60,000+ variables
- AGING 3 Studies, 22 Data Sets, 19,400+ variables
- MATERNAL DRUG ABUSE 7 Studies, 13 Data Sets, 5,000+ variables
CPS Utilities on CD-ROM (Located in Data Services)
- Current Population Survey -- all March Files, 1962-2003, on two disks.
- All variables from all years of the March CPS are searchable.
- Access to questionnaire content, coding, universe information, and construction of subsets is available on the CD-ROM.
- CPS Utilities website has more information about this product.
- Variable List of Topics with links to the data dictionary.
- Using CPS Utilities at EDS, while geared towards users at Columbia, is relevant for BU users.
Datastream (Access on Internet via workstation in Data Services.)
- Extensive printed manuals available in Online and Data Services.
- Datastream Guide - Includes sample searches and commonly used commands.
Great American History Machine on CD-ROM (Located in Data Services)
- The Great American History Machine provides access to U.S. census data, 1790-1990, and Presidential and Congressional election data for the 19th and 20th centuries.
- Documentation to assist in extracting data, creating maps, and deriving variables are available in Data Services.
Historical Statistics of the United States on CD-ROM: Colonial Times to 1970 - Bicentennial Edition (Located in Data Services)
- Includes over 12,500 statistical time series. Errors in the 1975 printed edition have been corrected using the information in the Errata sheet dated February 1977.
- See Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 [Bartle Reference HA206 .S82, 2 volumes] to see the contents of the printed version. This source is still the standard source for quantitative indicators of American history.
- A User's Guide is available to assist in locating and viewing tables, and extracting data.
Wistat (Women's Indicators and Statistics) (Located in Data Services)
- Detailed national statistics on a wide range of social and economic topics, disaggregated by sex, for 206 countries or areas of the world.
- A United Nations publication covering from 1970 to 1999
World Development Indicators on CD-ROM (Located in Data Services)
- Covers population and demographics, labor and employment, education, health and nutrition, land and energy use, urbanization, emissions, national accounts (local currency), national accounts (US$), national accounts (derived), other production indicators, trade, government finance, monetary, balance of payments, external debt, state-owned enterprises, private sector, prices and exchange rates, tax and trade policies, financial depth, infrastructure and communication, and development assistance and aid.
- WDI Indicators - over 500 indicators for over 150 economies.
Sites for Locating and Downloading Data
1990 PUMS Utilities
Create customized subsets from the rectangularized 1% PUMS files for the 50
states and the District of Columbia, compute a variety of descriptive statistics
for variables in the data files, and do crosstabulations for user defined
combinations of two or three variables in the data sets. The system will create
the customized subset and prepare it for ftp delivery.
American FactFinder
Create tables or maps and download data from the Census of Population and
Housing, Economic Census, or American Community Survey.
Comparative Study of Electoral Systems
(CSES)
"The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems
(CSES) is a collaborative program of research among election study teams from around the world. Participating countries include a common module of survey questions in their post-election studies. The resulting data are deposited along with voting, demographic, district and macro variables. The studies are then merged into a single, free, public dataset for use in comparative study and cross-level analysis."
IPUMS: Integrated Public Use Microdata
Samples
Contains twenty-five high-precision samples of the American population drawn
from thirteen federal censuses from 1850-1990. Some of these samples have
existed for years, and others were created specifically for this database.
Data FERRET: Federal Electronic Research
and Review Extraction Tool
1992-1998 Current Population Survey (CPS); 1992, 1993, 1996 Survey of Income
and Program Participation (SIPP); 1997 Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD); 1993
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS from the National Center for Health
Statistics); 1988-1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III
(NHANES from the National Center for Health Statistics)
Social Science Data on the Net
Mega-site! Excellent searchable and browsable site of over 400 links to numeric
data for downloading, plus much more. Includes access to data from major government
agencies, universities, and research institutes. Check Search
Hints for strategies on searching.
StatCat
StatCat (formerly the Social Science Data Archive Catalog) includes information
about numeric datasets in the Yale Social Science Data Archive, as well as
datasets available in the Yale University Library and on the Internet.
EconData (INFORUM)
A source for several hundred thousand economic time series data at the U.S.
National, State/Local, and International levels.
EconData.Net
Links to over 1,000 public, university, and private sources of regional socioeconomic
data.
New York State Data
Center
Provides access to the various statistical series for and about New York State's
economy and population including estimates. Download data as spreadsheet files.
Online Data Archive
Datasets and documentation free to download from the Data and Program Library
Service, University of Wisconsin.
Instructional Datasets and On-line Textbooks
HyperStat Online
An introductory statistics book with other good links by David M. Lane, Rice
University.
StatNotes:
An Online Textbook
An online methods textbook by David Garson, a political science faculty member
at North Carolina State.
Research Methods Knowledge
Base
A textbook for an introductory course in social research methods. Author William
Trochim is a professor at Cornell University.
SPSS for
Windows, Version 9.0: A Brief Tutorial
By faculty at California State University.
Teaching Resources Depository Home
Page
Created by faculty in the California State system and includes teaching modules
and downloadable datasets (some are restricted access).
On-line Assistance
Data
Library -- Introduction to Data Handling
Includes advice on reading and using codebooks and sample extractions using
SAS and SPSS.
Glossary of Selected
Computing and Social Science Terms
By Jim Jacobs.
The
JOB Statement for MVS Batch
For IBM Mainframe users.
Manipulating
Columns of Data in XEDIT Using CMODIFY
For IBM Mainframe users.
Selecting
Statistics
A "how to" by William Trochim. Includes a glossary.
Statistical List Subscription
Service
An easy way to subscribe or unsubscribe to statistically-oriented e-mail discussion
lists.
Using
Temporary Disk on BINGVMB
For IBM Mainframe users.
Using
RDRLIST
For IBM mainframe users
What
You Need to Know to Write a SAS Program
From Columbia University.
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