Social Science Data Services
Finding and Managing Data for Research

Data Services > Tutorials > Working with Data Files

See also: Support for Statistical Software.

Working with Data Files

Following are links to online tutorials and resources on working with data files:

Online Tutorials | Books on Statistics | Geographic Correspondence

Online Tutorials

Data Use Tutorial (ICPSR)
Provides instruction on ICPSR services and on accessing, downloading, and using data.

Data User Resources (University of Miami)
Links to a variety of web resources on data handing, statistics glossaries and textbooks, and software tutorials.

Glossary of Selected Social Science Computer and Social Science Data Terms (UCSD)
Provides definitions of an array of terms regarding managing and using data files.

Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research (ICPSR)
Summer courses which provide a comprehensive, integrated program of studies in research design, statistics, data analysis, and social science methodology.

Using SPSS Setup Files (ICPSR)
Describes how to use SPSS setup files to import an ascii data file into a statistical software package.

Books on Statistics

Search in Barton for resources on statistical analysis methods using the following subject headings:

• Mathematical statistics
• Social sciences -- Statistics
• Social sciences -- Statistical methods
• Social sciences -- research
• Social sciences -- methodology
• Statistics
• or name the specific method about which you want information (e.g. Multivariate analysis)

You may want to consult the following statistical resources in the Dewey Library Reference Collection (unless otherwise noted):

A Dictionary of Statistics
QA276.14.U67 2002

Dictionary of Statistics & Methodology: a Nontechnical Guide for the Social Sciences
HA17.V64 1999

Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences
QA276.14.E5 2006 (Hayden Library - Science Reference)

The Oxford Dictionary of Statistical Terms
HA17.K33 2003

The Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods
H62.S34 2004

Geographic Correspondence

When doing data analysis, many researchers need to know the relationship between different geographic areas (e.g. what counties lie within a particular metropolitan area). Following are some resources of use in matching geographic areas:

Census Geography (U.S. Census Bureau)
Overview of the geographic types about which the Census Bureau collects data.

Geographic Areas Reference Manual (U.S. Census Bureau)
Describes the basic geographic entities the Census Bureau uses in its various data tabulations and documents the purposes, definitions, standards, criteria, and procedures used to select, define, delineate, and revise these geographic entities.

U.S. Gazetteer (U.S. Census Bureau)
Provides files that outline the relationships among geographic areas such as place, county, and ZCTA, according to 1990 and 2000 geography.

MABLE/Geocorr 2K (University of Missouri)
Geographic Correspondence Engine with Census 2000 geography. Enables the user to match multiple geographic areas for any U.S. state.

1998 FIPS 55-DC3 Index (Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Index for understanding Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) codes.

Note: when matching geographic areas, it is important to understand:

• If your data will span any length of time, boundaries can change over time. Therefore, many of the resources listed will specify that you're matching boundaries based on the boundary definitions of a particular year.
• Some users need to match Zip Codes to other geographic areas. However, difficulties in defining the land area covered by zip codes led the Census Bureau to designate ZCTAs (ZIP Code Tabulation Areas), generalized area representations of Zip Codes that enable more precise geographic calculation.