Data Resources
Many social science instruction and research activities focus on the analysis of statistical data from sources such as public opinion surveys, censuses, financial indicators, administrative and electoral records. The StatLab has a long history of collaboration with the Social Science Libraries and Information Services in providing a wide range of support for data users at Yale.
Locating Data
StatCat includes records for numeric datasets in
the Yale Social Science Data Archive, as well as datasets in the Yale
University Library and on the Internet. Records are constantly being
added for more datasets held on CD, through subscription databases, and
available free on the Web. For help finding, using and accessing data, please see the StatCat: Help Using Data
page.
The StatLab offers programming and extracting consultation for preparing
and analysing statistical data. A variety of software packages are
available for recoding, transferring, and checking data prior to analysis.
See the consultants' schedule for times to come into the StatLab for
help. Detailed help on using data with SPSS
and SAS
is available online.
Social Science Data Archive
The Social Science Data Archive (SSDA), a special collection within the Social Science Library and Information Services, was formed in 1972. It contains computer files of numeric social science data. Most of the files are stored on the StatLab server; some are available on CD-ROM at the Social Science Library. SSDA data files are cataloged in StatCat; some CD-ROMs and documentation for data files are cataloged in Orbis. Help in locating and acquiring appropriate data is available by contacting the Data Librarian (email stefan.kramer@yale.edu) in the Social Science Library.
ICPSR
Yale's primary source of social science data is the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). ICPSRs extensive catalog of data holdings may be searched at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu. When a desired study is identified, simply click "downloads" to access the dataset(s). To locate printed codebooks in the SSL collection, search Orbis, the Library's online catalog, to get the call number.
Public Opinion Data
SSLIS maintains a Public Opinion Subject Guide with numerous links to helpful resources including the Roper Center for Public Opinion, the Public Opinion Poll Question Database from the Odum Institute at Univ of North Carolina, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press data archive and ICPSR.
Census Data
SSLIS maintains a guide to data, maps, and GIS layers available from the US 2000 census. This is a very good place to locate census materials from multiple government and academic sources.
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