An Introduction to ICPSR

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An Introduction to ICPSR

• Lynette Hoelter, Ph.D.
• Director, Instructional Resources Development
• June 24, 2009

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Getting to Know ICPSR

• What is ICPSR? From where do the data come?
• Why do individuals use ICPSR?
• Supporting Social Sciences Research
• Enhancing undergraduate and graduate education
• How do I get started using ICPSR?
• Finding data
• Downloading data
• How do I use ICPSR in the classroom?

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What is ICPSR?
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• One of the worlds oldest and largest social
  science data archives
• Established in 1962 (as ICPR) so that social
  scientists could share data
• Data distributed on punch cards, then magnetic
  reel-to-reel tape, and now
• Data available instantaneously
• Approximately 7550 data systems with over 62,200
  data files
• Membership organization that started as a
  partnership among 21 universities, now
• Currently over 680 members world-wide
• Federal funding allows parts of the collection to
  be available to all

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What we do Everything data!

• Seek out researchers, PIs, research agencies and
  collect data files and pertinent documents
  related to the original research
• Process the data and documents
• Output data into multiple formats
• Preserve it for the future
• Disseminate data directly to the desktops of
  students and researchers for secondary analysis
• Provide education, training, instructional
  resources
• Summer Program in Quantitative Methods
• Undergraduate and graduate student teaching
  resources to support quantitative literacy

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About the Data

• ICPSR archives both U.S. and international data
• Data Sources
• Government (census, government organizations)
• Large data collection efforts (National
  Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Panel
  Study of Income Dynamics)
• Polls (ABC and CBS news polls, voter polls)
• Principle Investigators (Chitwan Valley Family
  Study, Marital Instability Over the Life Course)
• New combinations (Integrated Fertility Survey
  Series, Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology
  Surveys)
• Other organizations (NCAA)

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Most Popular Downloads, Spring 2009

• General Social Surveys
• 1972-2004 (Cumulative)
• 1972-2006 (Cumulative)
• American National Election Study
• Pre- and Post-Election Survey (2004, 2000)
• American National Election Studies, 1948-2004
  (Cumulative)
• Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys
• Cumulative file, 2001-2003
• National Survey of American Life, 2001-2003
• National Latino and Asian American Study,
  2002-2003
• National Survey on Drug Use and Health, (2006,
  2005, 2003)
• European and World Values Surveys Integrated Data
  File, 1999-2002
• Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol
  Study, 2001
• National Comorbidity Survey Replication,
  2001-2003
• Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, 1992-1994

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Supporting a growing number of disciplines with
data . . .

• Anthropology
• Criminal Justice
• Demography
• Economics
• Education
• Foreign Policy
• Geography
• Gerontology

• Health Medical Policy
• History
• Law/Legal Services
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Public Policy
• Sociology

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A Closer Look into ICPSR
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Supporting Social Research
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Supporting the Data

• Data and Documentation for students researchers
• Allows for replication, further understanding of
  published findings, new research
• Used in papers, theses/dissertations, and reports
• Bibliography of Related Literature
• Over 47,500 citations
• Full-text available
• Citations exportable
• Free user support
• Education and training
• Summer Program courses held at UM and other
  campuses

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Topical Archives

• Data grouped by substantive topic
• Many archives, including
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive
  (SAMHDA)
• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
  (NACJD)
• National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
  (NACDA)
• Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR)
• Minority Data Resource Center (MDRC)
• International Data Resource Center (IDRC)
• General Archive
• These archives are federally funded

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http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/all/archiv
es.xml
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Finding Downloading Data

• Many search functions found under the Data tab
• Set up your MyData account operates like a
  shopping cart!
• Data available in a variety of formats
• ASCII data with set-up files
• SPSS
• SAS
• Stata
• Includes documentation
• Codebook
• Processing notes
• Variables database

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http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/access/index.html
search
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Online Analysis Software

• Survey Documentation Analysis (SDA) developed
  at UC Berkeley
• Web-based, requires no additional software or
  licensing
• Over 490 datasets available for use with SDA
• Easy for students but sophisticated analyses
  available for researchers
• Good for preliminary analyses to determine
  whether data will work for a particular research
  question (e.g., MDRC subsetting tools)

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To Use SDA

• Choose a dataset with SDA tools available (Data
  menu ? Browse ? Online Data Analysis ? View SDA
  studies (or by topic) ? select a dataset ? online
  analysis)
• On dataset page, choose Analyze Subset tab
• Click link to data at bottom of page
• Agree to terms (members only)

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Enhancing Education

• Supporting Quantitative Literacy Social
  sciences provide context
• Roughly 30 of 2-year college students and 20 of
  4-year college students show below basic or basic
  quantitative literacy skills
• These students could not, for example, estimate
  if their cars had enough gas to get to a gas
  station. (The Literacy of Americas College
  Students, American Institutes for Research,
  January (2006))
• Engages students with disciplines more fully
• Better picture of how social scientists work
• Prevents some of the feelings of disconnect
  between substantive and technical courses
• Piques student interest
• Opens the door to the world of data

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Bringing data into the classroom

• Online tutorials
• Online teaching modules
• Online Learning Center (Introductory/Substantive
  Courses)
• Student research opportunities

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http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/help/datausers/
Online Tutorials (Help Center)
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Online Exercises

• SETUPS
• Uses the 2004 National Election Study
  to understand voting behavior
• Provides substantive background, terms and
  descriptions, and embedded exercises to allow
  users to get through simple exploratory analyses
  of political behavior. Builds cross tabular
  exercises based on various questions about the
  2004 Presidential elections.
• Will be updated Summer, 2009
• www.icpsr.umich.edu/SETUPS

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• Investigating Community and Social Capital
• Uses 3 data sets including the General Social
  Survey, DDB Needham Life Style Surveys, and
  State-level data to reproduce findings from
  Robert Putnams Bowling Alone
• Teaches students how to browse codebooks, devise
  and execute cross tabulations and summary
  statistics
• Helps teach replication of scientific evidence
• http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICSC/index.html

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• Exploring Data Through
• Research Literature
• Designed to teach quantitative
• research methods to
• undergraduates in a different way.
• Integrates ICPSR bibliography of data related
  literature into teaching students how make their
  way from ideas to empirical work to literature
  and back.
• Suitable for both research methods and other
  substantive courses requiring empirical research
• www.icpsr.umich.edu/EDRL/index.htm

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• Tool to help develop classroom lectures and
  exercises that integrate data early into the
  learning process.
• Intended for use in introductory-level
  substantive classes.
• OLC addresses key concerns raised by teaching
  faculty in focus groups and in-depth interviews.
• Requires no additional software.
• www.icpsr.umich.edu/OLC
• Webinar on using the OLC in class on ICPSR
  website

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Coming Soon! (Fall 2009)
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Research Opportunities for Students

• Research paper competitions - a research journal
  experience cash prizes!
• Paid student internships focusing on
  investigating social sciences research

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Additional ICPSR Resources

• Bibliography/Publications based on ICPSR data
• Summer Program
• Webinar Library
• Subscribed Email List
• ICPSR Help
• Data User Help Center

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For More Info

• Explore the website - http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/I
  CPSR/
• Sign up for our email announcements -
  http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/org/lists/index.h
  tml
• Attend or view our webinars (open to the public!)
  - http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/training/webina
  r.html
• Fall 2009 (October 5-10), attend the OR Meeting
  now open to the public and virtual! -
  http//www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/or/ormeet/index.h
  tml

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Remaining Questions?...

• Lynette Hoelter
• lhoelter_at_umich.edu