Research Guides: Sociology: Data

Google Data Search

Google Dataset Search
"Dataset Search enables users to find datasets stored across thousands of repositories on the Web, making these datasets universally accessible and useful. Transforming how data is used by creating a data sharing ecosystem and giving scientists a way to show the impact of their work through citation of datasets.

Statista RSS

Data Resources

ICPSR This link opens in a new window
Repository of curated data sets pertaining to many disciplines within the social sciences. Contains original codebooks and descriptions of methodology, offers multiple file format downloads, and links data to relevant scholarly research. Users can search at the variable level and trace datasets to their use in academic publications.

Murray Research Archive DataVerse
This Harvard Archive is a permanent repository for quantitative and qualitative research data at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science, comprised of data, audio, and video.
Association of Religion Data Archives [ARDA]
ARDA's goal is to preserve and provide access to high-quality data on religion in the United States and abroad.
Office of Population Research (OPR)
OPR is a leading demographic research and training center; contributing to formal demography, and the study of fertility change. Research activity include the areas of health and wellbeing, social demography, and migration, the study of fertility change and urbanization.

Government

DATA.GOV
Access datasets published by agencies across the federal government, and find tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more.
resources.data.gov
A repository of Federal Enterprise Data Resources of policies, tools, case studies, and other resources to support data governance, management, exchange, and use throughout the federal government.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
ProQuest Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window
Provides access to statistical information produced by U.S. federal agencies, states, private organizations, and major intergovernmental organizations. It also offers broad perspectives and insight on long-term national trends and implications paired with the ability to narrow results.

Polling, Opinions, Community

American Community Survey [ACS]
The companion survey to the Census, this community survey details population and housing information about our nation.
General Social Survey [GSS]
Gathers data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes.
Pew Research Center: Data
Track key national, political, economic and demographic trends over time using Pew's regularly updated charts and explore further by downloading Pew data sets, trying Pew data interactives or viewing Pew key data points.

Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
A compilation of questions and responses from national, state, local and special surveys, conducted by hundreds of international polling organizations. Records consists of one poll question and the participants' responses, and indexed by subject matter, publication year, general and specific location, and survey method.
Access is limited to 4 simultaneous users.
Roper iPoll This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive, up-to-date source for U.S. nationwide public opinion. The iPoll is organized at the question level and provides tools to sift through historical and present-day national public opinion surveys.

Family Welfare

Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH)
CDC, through DASH, promotes environments where youth can gain fundamental health knowledge and skills, establish healthy behaviors, and connect to health services to prevent HIV, STDs, and unintended pregnancy.
Monitoring the Future
"Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults. Each year, a total of approximately 50,000 8th, 10th and 12th grade students are surveyed (12th graders since 1975, and 8th and 10th graders since 1991). In addition, annual follow-up questionnaires are mailed to a sample of each graduating class for a number of years after their initial participation."
National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) - National Catalogue of Surveillance Systems
An invaluable index to health related datasets.
National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN)
The primary activity of NDACAN is the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of high quality datasets relevant to the study of child abuse and neglect; distribution of data files in SPSS and SAS-compatible formats.
National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH)
NSCH provides rich data on multiple, intersecting aspects of children’s lives—including physical and mental health, access to quality health care, and the child’s family, neighborhood, school, and social context.
National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)
NSFG gathers information on family formation, marriage and divorce, pregnancy, infertility, use of birth control, and men’s and women’s health. The information is used to help improve health services and health education programs.
Physical Fitness Testing (PFT). California Department of Education
California Education Code has required that each local educational agency administer a state-designated physical fitness test (PFT) to all students in grades five, seven, and nine. The Fitnessgram®, developed by The Cooper Institute, provides criterion-referenced standards to evaluate minimum levels.
US Department of Health and Human Services (Administration for Children and Families): Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)
"The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects case-level information on all children in foster care and those who have been adopted with title IV-E agency involvement."

Longitudinal Surveys

Americans' Changing Lives (ACL)
ACL is the longest, ongoing national study to clarify how our neighborhoods, work, and social connections affect our health throughout adulthood. The study began in 1986 with a national face-to-face survey of 3617 adults. Beginning in 2019, they introduced an epigenetic component to the study, collecting and analyzing DNA to understand how neighborhoods and lived experiences affect gene expression.
Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS)
BPS currently surveys cohorts of first-time, beginning in postsecondary education and collects data on a variety of topics, including student demographic characteristics, school and work experiences, persistence, transfer, and degree attainment.
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) | IES NCES
ECLS-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 focuses on children's early school experiences. The ECLS-K data provides descriptive information on children's status at entry to school at kindergarten, their transition into school, and their progression through 8th grade.
Higher Education Research Institute (HERI): Cooperative Institutional Research Program (UCLA)
CIRP is a national longitudinal study of the American higher education system and is the nation’s largest and oldest empirical study of higher education, involving data on some 1,900 institutions, over 15 million students, and more than 300,000 faculty.
National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS)
NLS are a set of surveys designed to gather information at multiple points in time on the labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of men and women.

Census Data Sites

There are several sites related to the Census Bureau and the over 130 surveys they conduct. Please note that they suggest to use the Chrome browser when using their sites. For easy tables and charts try their Quick Facts page to analyze data or create comparisons. To narrow down to the American Community Survey (ACS) you can find Narrative Profiles for the latest 5 Year Estimate Reports.

Census Bureau Data
Access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The data comes from several censuses and surveys.
Census.gov
The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. We honor privacy, protect confidentiality, share our expertise globally, and conduct our work openly.
Census 2010 Interactive Population Map
Census results are used to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives, to realign congressional districts, and as a factor in the formulas that distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds each year.
United States Census, Statistical Abstracts Series
1878-2012
Census Reporter
For journalists and other data users to write stories and grants using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, also offers tools for data comparison and makes it easy to create exports for further analysis in tabular or GIS formats.

Criminal Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Mental Health Problems Of Prison And Jail Inmates
This report compares the characteristics of offenders with a mental health problems to those without, including current offense, criminal record, sentence length, time expected to be served, co-occurring substance dependence or abuse, family background, and facility conduct since current admission. It presents measures info by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age; describes mental health problems and mental health treatment among inmates since admission. Findings are based on the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004, and the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 2002.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
DHS has the the goal of keeping America safe through the dedication of more than 240,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cybersecurity analyst to chemical facility inspector.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD)
Archives and disseminates data on crime and justice for secondary analysis, contains data from over 2,700 curated studies or statistical data series.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
"The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) is a federally funded resource offering justice and drug-related information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide."
Prison Policy Initiative (PPI)
PPI is a non-profit, non-partisan group producing cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization; they curate an extensive database of empirical criminal justice research, including a focus on health impact, and mental health.
Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) Research Library
PPI is a non-profit, non-partisan group producing cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization; they curate an extensive database of empirical criminal justice research, including a focus on correctional education and the school-to-prison pipeline.
Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN)
PHDCN is an interdisciplinary study of how families, schools, and neighborhoods affect child and adolescent development and was designed to advance the understanding of the developmental pathways of both positive and negative human social behaviors. The Project examined the pathways to juvenile delinquency, adult crime, substance abuse, and violence and at the same time, also provided a detailed look at the environments in which these social behaviors take place by collecting substantial amounts of data about urban Chicago, including its people, institutions, and resources.
School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) | IES NCES
SSOCS is the NCES sample survey of the nation's public schools designed to provide estimates of school crime, discipline, disorder, programs and policies. SSOCS is administered to public primary, middle, high, and combined school principals in the spring of even-numbered school years.

Economy & Business

Business and Economy
Produces economic data across the entire economy on a monthly, quarterly, yearly, and five-year basis.
California Labor Market Information
County and City level labor market information. Includes wage and salary data, occupational projections, employment statistics, and education and training.
Economic Research Service (ERS)
The ERS mission is to inform and enhance public and private decision making on economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, the environment, and rural development.
Economy & Country Risk
With comprehensive and consistent data, economic and risk forecasting models, granular country and sovereign risk ratings, comparative industry forecasts, commodity prices, and unmatched expertise, we enable customers to identify and optimize opportunities, mitigate risks, and solve problems across the globe.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) eLibrary Data
Simplifies analysis and research with direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. Find information and perspective on macroeconomics, globalization, development, trade and aid, technical assistance, demographics, emerging markets, policy advice, poverty reduction, and more.
Measuring Worth
Historical data on important economic aggregates, with particular emphasis on nominal (current-price) measures, as well as real (constant-price) measures. Data (US, UK & Australia) in economics and history, provides carefully designed comparators that explain the many issues involved in making value comparisons over time.
National Bureau of Economic Research: Data
Datasets used by researchers at the NBER.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) iLibrary*
OECD iLibrary is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) featuring its books, papers and statistics and is the gateway to OECD’s analysis and data.
World Data Bank
Statistical tables on development from countries around the world, includes more than 550 development indicators with time series for 208 countries and 18 country groups from 1960 to the current year.

Health

Minority Health & Health Equity Archive
An electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. Open to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers via the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
BRFSS is a telephone survey that collects state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Established in 1984 with 15 states, BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories.
California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)
The largest state health survey in the nation conducted on a continuous basis. Via web and telephone methods, it asks questions on a wide range of health topics, representing all 58 counties in California and provides a detailed picture of the health and health care needs of California’s large and diverse population. Based at UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Kaiser Family Foundation Polls; Public Opinion and Survey Research
"The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll is the Foundation’s signature survey project, providing consistent, up-to-date information on the public’s opinions, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system."
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
MEPS is a set of large-scale surveys of families and individuals, their medical providers, and employers; the most complete source of data on the cost and use of health care and health insurance coverage across the United States.
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
"The mission of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people."
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
"The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations."
ResDAC (Research Data Assistance Center)
ResDAC is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contractor that provides free assistance to researchers interested in the CMS data. CMS data files are organized by data category, privacy level and CMS program.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Population Data
"The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and abuse and mental disorders in the U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized population, age 12 and older. The survey generates estimates at the National, state, and substate levels. "
US Dept of Health & Human Services: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
"NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability."
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)
YRBSS monitors six categories of health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults: unintentional injuries and violence; sexual behaviors; alcohol and other drug use; tobacco use; unhealthy dietary behaviors; inadequate physical activity. Additional measures on obesity and asthma and other health-related behaviors, includes a national school-based survey conducted by CDC and state, territorial, tribal, and local surveys.
National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative
Provides culturally appropriate information and community education materials on Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation in Indian Country.
Indigenous Evaluation Toolkit - Public Health
This Toolkit provides step-by-step guidance, worksheets and concrete examples to support communities looking to Indigenize and decolonize their program evaluation.

OpenICPSR

OPEN ICPSR
"Institutional open ICPSR is a research data-sharing service developed to meet the needs of universities, journals, research centers, and departments. We offer a fully-hosted, economical, professionally-run, and trusted research data repository that demonstrates the research impact of your organization."

Education

Academic Performance Index (API)
API measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures.
California Department of Education - Student & School Data Files (Downloadable)
"Data files pertaining to student and school demographics that can be downloaded to your computer."
Condition of Education (COE)
COE is a congressionally mandated annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics. It contains key indicators on the condition of education in the United States at all levels, from prekindergarten through postsecondary, as well as labor force outcomes and international comparisons.
DataLab @ National Center for Education Statistics
"Three easy to use, powerful, and robust online data analysis tools. With data covering pre-elementary to postsecondary education, you can easily find out how often school crime and violence occurs in K-12 schools, who completes college, and everything in between."
Ed-Data
"Ed-Data is a partnership of the California Department of Education, EdSource and the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) designed to offer educators, policy makers, the legislature, parents, and the public quick access to timely and comprehensive data about K-12 education in California."
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
IPEDS is a system of interrelated surveys gathering information from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs; conducted annually by NCES.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.
National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES)
NHES collects nationally representative, descriptive data on the educational activities of children and adults in the United States; conducted every 3 years on topics including early education, family involvement in schools, homeschooling, and adult training and education.

Regional Focus

Orange County Community Indicators, 1999-
"The Orange County Community Indicators Project annually measures the overall quality of life of the Orange County community by tracking key indicators of economic, social and environmental well being." - Web site. Click on "Archive" for holdings.

List of foreign and domestic resources
FOREIGN	DOMESTIC
EPS China Data (VPN Required) A service provider in China offering statistical Time Series Data. Coverage includes five sectors: Economic Operation, Industry Operation, Trade & External Economy, Social Development, Resources & Environment.	Analyze Boston Analyze Boston is the City of Boston's open data hub to find facts, figures, and maps related to people who live within the city.
India Human Development Survey (IHDS) This is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey of 42,152 households in 1,503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India.	Data San Francisco (DataSF) DataSF believes in the responsible, ethical use of data to improve decision-making and service delivery across San Francisco.
India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 2005 (ICPSR 22626) The India Human Development Survey 2005 (IHDS) is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey of select urban neighborhoods across India. Interviews in each household covered topics concerning health, education, employment, economic status, marriage, fertility, gender relations, and social capital. Children aged 8-11 completed short reading, writing and arithmetic tests. Additional village, school, and medical facility interviews are also available.	California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) The largest state health survey in the nation conducted on a continuous basis. Via web and telephone methods, it asks questions on a wide range of health topics, representing all 58 counties in California and provides a detailed picture of the health and health care needs of California’s large and diverse population. Based at UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), 2011-12 (ICPSR 36151) Data for IHDS-II mostly re-interviews households from IHDS-I (ICPSR 22626) in 2004-05. Interviews in each household covered topics concerning health, education, employment, economic status, marriage, fertility, gender relations, social capital, village infrastructure, wage levels, and panchayat composition.	Resources.data.gov An online and central repository for Federal Enterprise Data resources including tools, case studies, playbooks, and guidance on how to manage and use Federal data.
US Census International Programs Center Advances data-driven decision making through tools, capacity strengthening, and data products for the global statistical community.	Los Angeles Open Data Information, Insights, and Analysis from the City of Los Angeles

Sociology