Skip to Main Content

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

Data resource covering such topics as population, economics, education, health, social and political behavior/attitudes, terrorism, history, crime, aging, and substance abuse.

Using ICPSR

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

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 software downloads or Arts & Sciences' Applied Statistics Laboratory (for consults).
  • For assistance locating data files in ICPSR, contact the Young Library Ask Us Desk.

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

Search Tips

  • A Boolean "and" is invoked with multiple search terms
  • Search is not case-sensitive.
  • You can enter a literal research question:
    Do children of Asian immigrants speak English in the home more often than children of Latino immigrants?
    Or just keywords:
  • retirement "health insurance"
  • Use quotation marks for phrase searches; use the minus sign to remove items from results:
    "election data" -"opinion poll"
  • You can still search by study number.
  • Search terms can be anywhere in the study: title, description, variables, etc.
  • Search terms are automatically truncated, meaning for example a search for "nation"will find results containing "nation" and "national"
  • Use quotes to search for an exact expression:
    "social mobility"
  • You can combine exact expressions with loose terms:
    "united states" inmates
  • Exclude results by using a MINUS sign:
    elections -sweden -germany will exclude swedish and german election studies
  • On the results page, you will be able to sort and filter to further refine results.

Codebooks

A codebook in ICPSR describes the contents, structure, and layout of a data collection, including each variable. Elements of a codebook include:

  • Study title, investigator(s), organization(s)
  • Table of contents
  • Introduction with purpose and format
  • Methodological details
  • Variable name(s) - see example below
  • Values and value labels - see example below
  • Summary statistics
  • Any data that is missing
  • Additional notes, remarks, or contents

Example of a variable in ICPSR records:

Example of a value in ICPSR records: