Download Data sources–Sociology - SSIL Lab

Last updated: September 17th, 2013
Data Services Lab (McKenzie Hall: 460M)
University of Oregon
Data Sources for Sociologists
Given the breadth of issues studied by sociologists, the following guide offers links mainly to
general social science data archives and official data sources. If you are interested in a particular subject
and you are unable to find data through these sources, the Data Services Lab might be able to help you
find what you need.
There are many more data sources out there…
DSL may be adding more to this handout, which will be available through DSL’s website:
https://ssil.uoregon.edu/dsl/.
If you are unable to find what you are looking for, DSL can always assist you in finding, retrieving
and manipulating any public or restricted use data for your research project.
For Sociology
1. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
Link: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/.
- It is the largest and most often used resource for social science data. For a general overview, login
procedures and off-campus access for UO students/faculty/staff, visit DSL’s ICPSR page.
2. Sociometrics, Social Science Electronic Library (SSEDL)
Link http://www.socio.com/ssedl.php.
-This is a subscription-based data archive with health and social science data. Many of the individual
data sets may be available for free from the original source, but SSEDL also has original studies that
may not be available anywhere else. Data sets are available in raw files or in SAS and SPSS
formats. For information on how to access this archive, please contact Luis Sandoval at the Data
Services Lab ([email protected]) or Miriam Rigby at the UO Libraries ([email protected]).
3. UO Library, Sociology Research Guide
Link: http://library.uoregon.edu/guides/sociology/index.html
-The library website is always a good place to start. The Sociology Research Guide contains links to
data sources (under ‘Finding Datasets’) and it also has information on how to find scholarly work in
Sociology, as well as guides for specific courses at the UO.
4. The Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS) Dataverse Network (Harvard University)
Link: http://dvn.iq.harvard.edu/dvn/
-A collection of social science data uploaded by over 400 organizations, universities and individual
researchers from around the world (e.g., you will find ICPSR data here too). Not all data sets are
publicly available, but the description of each study/data set usually contains information on how to
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Last updated: September 17th, 2013
Data Services Lab (McKenzie Hall: 460M)
University of Oregon
obtain access. Even if access to a data set is restricted, you might still be able to download
codebooks and other documentation files.
5. DataFerret (U.S. Census Bureau)
Link: http://dataferrett.census.gov/index.html
-A data mining and extraction tool that allows you to download data from various surveys conducted
by the U.S. Census Bureau and other U.S. government agencies, including the American
Community Survey (ACS), Current Population Survey (CPS) and the National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS). The list of available datasets also provides direct links to some of the main sources
of official data for the United States.
6. Minnesota Population Center
Link: http://www.ipums.umn.edu/
-A vast collection of publicly available census and household survey data from different countries.
There are three main databanks: IPUMS-USA has combined data from the U.S. Census and the
American Community Survey since 1850; IPUMS-CPS integrates data from the March Current
Population Survey (CPS) since 1962; and IPUMS-International contains harmonized household
survey/census data from different countries since 1960 and also contains special extracts of GIS and
fertility, mortality and migration data. (Note: you can access documentation freely, but in order to
access data you need to apply.)
7. Measure DHS (Demographic and Health Surveys) (USAID)
Link: http://www.measuredhs.com/
-Developing country data on population, health, HIV and nutrition. The main type of survey, the
DHS, are based on nationally-representative samples with information ranging from traditional
health indicators (e.g. maternal mortality, tobacco use) to other health, nutrition and socio-economic
variables (e.g. household wealth, gender attitudes, domestic violence). Some surveys incorporate
geographic data. Note: data sets are free to download after completing a registration form.
8. Council of European Social Science Data Archives
Link: http://www.cessda.org/
-CESSDA is the umbrella organization for the social science data archives in various European
countries. The CESSDA catalogue is comprehensive, but the actual data may not be available
through CESSDA. Instead, you might have to consult the original source.
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Last updated: September 17th, 2013
Data Services Lab (McKenzie Hall: 460M)
University of Oregon
Other useful links for Sociology-related data
University of Oregon – Data Services Lab’s Data on the Web page
Link: http://ssil.uoregon.edu/dsl/data-on-web/
University of Texas, Austin – Sociology Department
Link: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/sociology/Academic%20Resources/sociological-data.php
Harvard University – Sociology Department
Link: http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/soc/technology/df_DataSources_Immigrant_Politics.html#_Toc4298989
Cornell University – Cornell Institute of Social and Economic Research (CISER)
Link: http://www.ciser.cornell.edu/info/datasource.shtml
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