Quantitative data and the Irish Social Science Data Archive James McBride Director, Irish Social Science Data Archive

issda Founded in 2000 as a joint initiative of UCD and the ESRI, with the support of the CSO Makes quantitative data available to academic and non-profit research sectors Aim:  To facilitate secondary analysis by ensuring wider access to large scale quantitative datasets

issda Funding for issda Funding for the data archive is provided by a grant from Cycle 4 of the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) This comes from Ireland’s EU Structural Funds Programmes , co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Union

issda Qualitative research A “methodology for the study of non-naturalistic or artefactual data” (Heaton, p. 6)  Fieldnotes  Interviews  Focus Groups  Open-ended questions in surveys  Diaries  Life stories  Official documents  Film / audio / photographs  Newspaper back issues Irish Qualitative Data Archive, NUI Maynooth National Library

issda Quantitative research Empirical, evidence-based research Statistical analysis of survey and microdata  Opinion polls  Election studies  Cross-national surveys (eg. Eurobarometer)  Census of Population  Household Budget Survey  Quarterly National Household Survey

issda Secondary analysis Use of existing data to test new ideas Verification of existing research

issda Example Attitudes to migration Run your own detailed survey (primary research)  European Social Survey  c. 1,200 respondents  c. €300,000 Use pre-existing survey (secondary analysis)  ESS Round 1 (  Data (in SPSS, SAS, Stata, ASCII formats)  Bibliography of research using the data

issda Advantages Efficient use of resources Ready availability of high-quality data, adhering to professional standards Data collected for one purpose can be reanalysed across a range of other subject areas Existing data can be combined with other data to more thoroughly investigate a topic Ability to study trends over time

issda Limitations Data not always available Danger of mismatch between primary and secondary uses of data Availability of documentation Danger of errors slipping in unnoticed during data collection and processing

issda Availability of secondary data Data archives  ISSDA:  ICPSR:  CESSDA: Data producers  CSO (2006 Census):  WHO: Data project websites  ESS:  SHARE:

issda How it works DATA SUPPLIERS (CSO, ESRI, etc) DATA USERS (Students, Researchers, Policymakers … ) issda

Target audience Initial target: Academic researchers and third level students in social sciences in Ireland Actually: Researchers working on academic, non-profit, and consultancy projects Students:  Some secondary school requests  At all undergraduate and postgraduate levels Government departments/agencies Across a wide range of subject disciplines  Social sciences, business/commerce, psychology, public health, engineering, agriculture, etc. International demand for Irish data – UK, USA, other EU countries

issda Datasets Official statistics data:  Census  Quarterly National Household Survey/Labour Force Survey  EU-SILC  Household Budget Survey Data from major government funded research projects:  Growing Up in Ireland (GUI)  Survey on Lifestyle And Nutrition  Living In Ireland  The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (2012) Irish social science and public health research projects:  Irish National Election Study  Irish Social and Political Attitudes Survey  Irish Survey of Contraception and Crisis Pregnancy Facilitate access to cross-national data:  Eurobarometer  ISSP  European Values Survey  European Social Survey  CESSDA member catalogues  ICPSR Commission for Energy regulation Smart Metering Project data

issda ICPSR –

issda ICPSR

issda Selection of MA projects (i) Charitable giving/ volunteering in Ireland Child poverty in Ireland Social structures vs. individual attitudes and how they affect labour market outcomes of Irish women Analysis of the status and situation of the Irish Language Dietary Habits, Physical Activity Participation levels and body mass index measurements among leaving cert students.

issda Selection of MA projects (ii) Carbon tax policies as a method of reducing energy usage for Transport Analysing differentials of immigrants in Ireland and across other EU countries Effects of declining enrolment on secondary schools Ethnicity and early school leaving

issda Accessing datasets CSO datasets shipped on CD-ROM Internet:  Documentation available in Acrobat format via the web  ICPSR: go to from a campus PC to set up an account and download data

issda Contact details Twitter: issda

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