Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): Getting Started

Questions?  
Email, call, chat, text, or visit with a librarian.

​Please Note:  ​Off-campus access via the proxy server is inconsistent. You may find that data searches and displays do not work. If that happens, please use this non-proxied link for on-campus access. If you encounter this problem off-campus, you can try the non-proxied link, but you may have to come on-campus to access certain data sets.

Also, registration with a MyData account is required to download most data files. Registering will increase your access options.

The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides access to social science data files, including

• studies
• CD-ROMs
• series descriptions
• ICPSR web pages

Disciplines represented include

• political science
• sociology
• demography
• economics
• history
• gerontology
• criminal justice
• public health
• foreign policy
• terrorism
• health
• medical care
• education
• racial and ethnic minorities
• psychology
• law
• substance abuse
• mental health

Searching:
See Find and Analyze Data for search options.
Please note: Searches are automatically truncated. See more...

Downloading:
Click on Quick Download, Download select files or Download all files once you have identified the data you want. Registration with a MyData account is required to download most data files. (See the Find and Analyze Data FAQ for trouble-shooting.)

Help with Data Manipulation:

• Use statistical software (e.g., SAS, SPSS, Stata) for data manipulation.
• To acquire statistical software and get consulting assistance, see Information Technology Services Statistical Software page and Arts & Sciences' Applied Statistics Laboratory (for consults).
• For assistance locating data files in ICPSR, contact the Young Library Reference Desk.

It is also possible to analyze selected data files on the ICPSR site using Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA), Nesstar, and other tools; look for the Online Analysis link in your search results, and see "Online Analysis" under Additional ICPSR Services.