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Database Tutorials

This LibGuide contains step by step instructions for majority of research databases available in the Wolfgram collection.

ICPSR: The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research

Mission

ICPSR advances and expands social and behavioral research, acting as a global leader in data stewardship and providing rich data resources and responsive educational opportunities for present and future generations.

 

This consortium provides an archive of data sets for analysis in the social and behavioral sciences.  Studies cover a wide range of disciplines, including education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, health care, economics and  political science.  Data collections consist of raw, unanalyzed data files, and codebooks. ICPSR data sets can be downloaded directly to a user's computer for use with statistical software such as SPSS or SAS.

One of the world’s oldest and largest social science data archives, includes:

  • 10,000+ studies
  • 77,000+ datasets
  • 72,000+ data-related publications in bibliography

Researchers can archive their data with ICPSR for free! Add your data to ICPSR's collection.

To Access

Access to ICPSR is limited to current students, faculty and staff at Widener University.  From the library's homepage, select A-Z Database List and then ICPSR.

2020 Data Resources for Remote Learning

Working/studying from home? - If you cannot access your account from off-campus, please request access to ICPSR data and resources by contacting icpsr-help@umich.edu.
 

Important Instructions and Resources regarding your ICPSR Restricted-use Data Access
 

Interesting Data Visualizations about the Coronavirus

Collections and Resources

These resources were created especially for undergraduate faculty and students. They  make it easy for instructors to set up data-driven learning experiences.

Additional Learning Opportunities

How to Search ICPSR

You must create a MyData Account in order to:

  • Download data sets and use online analysis tools
  • Generate utilization reports and download statistics
  • Access your past searches and downloads

 

To create an account: Select Login and under New User? click Create an Account.  Complete the form using your Widener email address and a password that you can remember!Create Account symbol

Finding Data Sets:

  • Select Find Data
    • Search Using Keywords, use the Thesaurus to find specific Social Science Terminology: Ex: eyewitness returns 154 studies
    • Search the Variables tab in your results to get more specific data:
      • Searching for eyewitness returns 154 studies and 504 variables.
      • Searching for eyewitness reliability returns 85 variables and 4 variables (these include studies that have both these concepts included:)
        • Variables Results
          • 21. EYEWITNESS RELIABLE
          • 23. PHYSICAL VS. EYEWITNESS
          • 24. EYEWITNESS VS. PHYSICAL
          • 22. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE RELIABLE
             
    • Browse by Thematic Collections, Geography, Series Data, Study, or Topic.

Topics Include:

Image of the United States

 

 

 


Census Enumerations

cartoon Image of people with signs

Mass Political Behavior
and Attitudes

 

drawn image of people hugging

Social Institutions
and Behavior

image of people tugging a rope

Conflict, Aggression,
Violence, Wars

cartoon image of book with international buildings

Community and
Urban Studies

Cartoon image of blue and red arrows

Economic Behavior and
Attitudes

Cartoon image representing education

Education

Cartoon image of hospital

Health Care and Facilities

Cartoon image of White House

Legislative and
Deliberative Bodies

Cartoon image representing external data resources

External Data
Resources

 
  • Select  the Data-Related Publications tab after you select a study to obtain full-text articles, books and other resources that used that data set.
    • Keywords: Eyewitness Reliability
    • Study: National Survey of Eyewitness Identification Procedure in Law Enforcement Agencies, 1994-2012
    • Data-Related Publication: Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) A National Survey of Eyewitness Identification Procedures in Law Enforcement Agencies. NCJ 242617, Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum.

 Steps for downloading data:

  1. Login to your ICPSR account
  2. Select the Data and Documentation Tab.
  3. Choose the dataset(s) in the study that you want.
  4. Look at the notes to ensure the data is not restricted.
  5. Select your desired data format (SPSS, SAS, etc.)
  6. Once you select Download, the Terms of Use document will appear.
  7. Before selecting Agree, read this document to ensure that the study and terms of use meet your needs.
  8. After you click on agree, the datasets will be downloaded into a .zip file.
  9. The tutorial below describes how to move the Zip file into SPSS.

Reading Data into SPSS

More Instructional Videos

In ICPSR, some datasets provide Survey Documentation Analysis (SDA), which allows users to perform online data analysis on the ICPSR Web site without downloading files.

Browse the View SDA Studies to find these datasets.

or, select the  tab for any study.

The tutorial below explains how to use SDA to analyze Data online.

Overview of SDA and its Features

More Instructional Videos