Graduate Search Clinics Using social science data services Mark Janes, Social Sciences Subject Consultant mark.janes@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Social Science Data Services The data landscape/ESDS sign up Finding data Data services (plus hands on) Other data services

Social science data services What is data? We asked 6 people … Respondent A: statistical series Respondent B: survey results Respondent C: longitudinal studies Respondent D: financial statistics Respondent E: law reports Respondent F: newspaper articles Respondent G: just about anything

Social science data services New mothers spend £400 on average on toddler’s wardrobes, a survey says. Tea is the number one night-time drink for men and women Research shows that 52 per cent of men in the city admit to wearing odd socks at least once a week (survey by online sock retailer) More than 20 million British homeowners have spent more than £150bn in tasteless home improvements that have reduced the value of their homes. Blastlan and Dilnot (2010) The Tiger That Isn't: Seeing Through a World of Numbers, p. 144

Finding statistical data

Finding statistical data

Finding statistical data

Social science data services

Social science data services

Main categories of statistical data Macro data National and international level Size and shape of nations, populations, economic activity, trade etc. Tends to be published by state and inter-governmental agencies (UN, World Bank, IMF, OECD, WHO) International standards for comparing nations Usually long time series available Not all variables available for all countries

Main categories of statistical data Micro data Data on individuals, discreet activities Via surveys, observation, administrative records Often aggregated to give larger picture Produced by state agencies, polling agencies, organizations, researchers Includes government studies: household surveys, cohort studies, longitudinal studies Otherwise mostly one-off studies, or in waves Individual distribution (e.g. official website), by publication, and/or data archive

Main categories of statistical data Economic and financial data International, national, or sub-regional economic statistics Timeseries Data from financial institutions (e.g. markets) Public data from inter-governmental organizations, national, banks, financial institutions, companies Commercially sensitive data on commercial databases, analyst reports etc.

Social science data services Finding data, a checklist: What – define what data you need Who – is likely to have collected the data? Search – develop a search strategy Access – how can the data be accessed?

Social science data services Finding data, a checklist: What? Define your data need Type of data (e.g., survey, financial, macroeconomic, reported, observational) Subject/content (e.g., public opinion, prices, national debt, health) Time span (e.g., now, last 10 years, annual, monthly etc.) Geographic (country, international, city)

Social science data services Finding data, a checklist: Who? Individual researchers/research groups Government (national statistical offices, central banks) Inter-Govenmental Organizations (UN, World Bank etc.) Non-Governmental Organizations (charities, policy centres) Commercial (Financial organizations, companies, commercial banks etc.)

Social science data services Finding data, a checklist: 3. Search Key data services (ESDS, UKDA, ICPSR etc. Nuffield Data Library) Offical sites: National Statistics, IGO sites (UN, World Bank, ILO, OECD) Library databases (OxLIP+, Libguides http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk) Google!

Social science data services Nuffield Data Library Holds Oxford’s collection of major datasets from national archives Members of the University can register Jane Roberts, Data Services Officer Oxford contact for national services Advice on data jane.roberts@nuffield.ox.ac.uk

Finding statistical data UK data service for HE researchers Access to UK and International Data Free via Single Sign On and registration Select data and download, selective online analysis (NESSTAR) Guides and training

Social science data services

Finding statistical data UK Data Archive ESRC funded archive based at Essex 1967 – Stores data from ESRC funded research, UK official statistics and major surveys Browse by subject Medieval to Modern

Social science data services

Social science data services

ICPSR Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research 1962- Largest social science data archive US research data National and international survey data Download data directly after simple registration process Related literature

Social science data services OECD iLibrary: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/

Finding statistical data

Social science data services Other major data services/sources: Business school (libguides): http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/business UNdata: http://data.un.org/ World Bank data: http://data.worldbank.org/ WHO http://www.who.int/research/en/ U.S. census: http://www.census.gov/ UK National Statistics: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/

Social science data services

Social science data services Still can’t find it? Sometimes the data you want may not be available: No one thought to count it Wars, natural disasters, government crises Organizations did not exist to gather the data (e.g., pre-1945) Not available for general purchase Commercial data is often too expensive for universities