A review of ICPSR's 50 year history as a research data archive and an overview of the data services it currently offers as well as data services in development
2. Introduction
• ICPSR’s Elevator Story
– What is an “ICPSR”
– Why do people use ICPSR
– We are not alone!
• Data Services
– Data Tools
– Data Management
• Data Services in Development
– Restricted Data & Virtual Labs (It’s
confidential, but we can tell you about it.)
– Video Dissemination
3. What is ICPSR?
- Then and Now -
• One of the world’s oldest and largest social
science data archives, est. 1962
• Data distributed on punch cards, then reel-
to-reel tape, now:
– Data available on demand
– Over 8,200 studies with over 65,000 data sets
• Membership organization among 21
universities, now:
– Currently about 700 members world-wide
– Federal funding of public collections
4. What We Do – It’s About Data!
• Seek research data and pertinent documents from
researchers (PIs, research agencies, government)
• Process and preserve the data and documents
• Disseminate data
• Provide education, training, & instructional
resources
5. Why People Use ICPSR
• Write articles, papers, or theses using
real research data
• Conduct secondary research to support
findings of current research or to
generate new findings
• Use as intro material in grant proposals
• Preserve/disseminate primary research
data
– Fulfill data management plan (grant)
requirements
• Study or teach quantitative methods
6. Supporting a growing
number of disciplines
• Anthropology • Health & Medical Policy
• Business/Economics • History
• Communications • International Relations
• Criminal Justice • Law/Legal Services
• Demography • Political Sciences
• Education • Psychology
• Foreign Policy • Public Policy
• Gerontology • Sociology
7. We are Not Alone!
Another Acronym: CESSDA
Council of European Social Science Data Archives
8. Niche Archives
• ARDA – Association of Religion Data
Archives: http://www.thearda.com/
• The Roper Center for Public Opinion
Research:
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/
9. Back to ICPSR - Most Popular
Downloads this Past Year:
• National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
• American National Election Study: 2008 Pre- and
Post-Election Survey
• National Survey on Drug Use and Health
• General Social Surveys (1972-2008 Cumulative)
• Chinese Household Income Project
• Comparative Project on Class Structure and Class
Consciousness
• India Human Development Survey
• National Survey of Midlife Development in the US
• Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys
• Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey
10. What’s in a “Download?”
• Documentation files - • Data in many forms!
pdfs – SPSS, SAS, Stata
– Questionnaire – ASCII
– Codebook
– Description & Citation
11. “Shopping” for Data:
The MyData Account
• MyData account – operates as
authentication and like a shopping cart!
• Authenticate once every six months on
campus and you can carry it with you
12. Supporting the Data
• Free user support
• The HELP Page offers:
– User support (at ICPSR) email and phone
contact information
– Data User Help Center: Short Tutorials &
Webinars available 24/7
– Local Support: Who to contact at your
local institution
– Glossary of Terms
– Social Networks: Where you can find us on
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Slideshare,
and more
15. The Challenge – Hoards of
Data & Metadata
How does one make sense of:
• 8,200 studies
• 65,000 datasets
• 550,000 files
• Millions of variables
• 60,200 bibliographic citations
18. ICPSR Summer Program in
Quantitative Methods
• Instruction on the tools and practices needed to
analyze data
• For those with math phobia and those with
advanced analysis skills
• 3-5 day workshops and 4-8 week courses
• Primarily held in Ann Arbor, MI,
on the campus of The University
of Michigan, but some courses
on other campuses also
• http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/sumprog/
19. Bringing Data Into the Classroom
• Easy to use features of ICPSR’s Website in
classes
– Social Science Variables Database
– Bibliography of Data-Related Literature
– SDA
• Additionally, in partnership with teaching
faculty, ICPSR has developed:
– Online Learning Center (OLC)
(Introductory/Substantive Courses)
– Online tutorials
– Online teaching modules
– Student research opportunities
21. ICPSR Data Services
From Full-Service To Al a Carte Data
Archives Management
• Data (website) hosting
• Preservation
• Data Sharing &
Impact
• Data Outreach &
Engagement
• Data security &
tracking
22. The Statement Heard Round
the Research World:
• The National Science Foundation has released a new
requirement for proposal submissions regarding the
management of data generated using NSF support.
Starting in January, 2011, all proposals must
include a data management plan (DMP).
• The plan should be short, no more than two pages,
and will be submitted as a supplementary
document. The plan will need to address two main
topics:
– What data are generated by your research?
– What is your plan for managing the data?
26. Secure Data Services
(Restricted-use Data)
• Potential increase in demand for data
management services as a result of
grant/contract requirements
• Increase in demand for processing,
analysis, and distribution of sensitive
data
• Resulted in improvements focused on
secure computing and data sharing
environments at ICPSR
27. Three Angles of Security
• Secure Ingest
• Secure Online Application & Tracking
• Secure Computing in the Cloud
28. The Visual and a mention of
“Video” Research Dissemination
29. For More Info:
• Explore the website - www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/
• Sign up for our email announcements -
www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/org/lists/index.jsp
• “Like” ICPSR on Facebook/follow ICPSR
on Twitter
• Attend or view our webinars (open to
the public!)
• Find our presentations on
www.slideshare.net – search: icpsr
• Contact user support – netmail@icpsr.umich.edu
Notas del editor
This presentation speaks largely to ICPSR’s Data Services – our current capacities as well as those in development.
As of February 2012, over 62,700 datasets (over 547,000 files) available for download. As a sense of volume of downloads, total downloads for FY 2011 = over 650,000 datasets downloaded/accessed. Also in FY2011 – about 32,000 (19,800 members) MyData accounts downloaded/accessed something – were active.
ICPSR supports students, faculty, researchers, and policymakers.
Archiving and sharing data is a global activity.
There are a number of niche archives. These archives tend to focus on a substantive area or topic and put really cools tools around them.
Downloads for the period July 2010 - June 2011
We keep talking about “the download.” What’s in a download anyway?First: Many PDFsA copy of the actual questionnaire – it’s not pretty!A copy of the codebook – much more attractive & it contains frequencies!Description & Citation: essentially, the data about the data (metadata) as well as the data citation you are to use when citing the dataset as a source.Second: The actual data file(s)System files for SAS, SPSS, & StataASCII files – straight-up data file and/or Setups files for SAS, SPSS, Stata
As you seen, ICPSR doesn’t just deliver data. We surround that data with tools and services that support its use and interpretation.
This is the front office for ICPSR employees.
This is the front office for our customers!FIND & ANALYZE DATA: this is the page where you can find several tools to help you find/browse data (you can also use the search box in the upper right corner). You’ll also find the link to our thematic collections (also known as our special topic archives or projects), OR, click on ‘view all’ in the Featured Site area on the right side of the ICPSR home page.ABOUT ICPSR: this page contains all the information about the consortium (history, mission, staff overview, careers, and contact information). You’ll find our subscribed Email Lists here – important if you are interested in our webinars, summer program, or other news about the consortium. Need printed promotional materials on ICPSR or templates for workshops? – see the Publications & Promotional Materials link.DEPOSIT DATA & FINDINGS: this page is for those interested in depositing data at ICPSR or preparing data in good form for long term preservation. Also, links to discussion of protection of respondent confidentiality are found here.DIGITAL CURATION: contains information on acquiring, processing, & preserving data and protecting respondent confidentiality.MEMBERSHIP: contains information on how to join and our list of members. Also, a link to the Official Representatives web site.PARTNERS & PROJECTS: explore our collections and research projects.HELP: information on how to contact us, someone at your institution to contact for help, and several self-help tutorials, & links to social networks
The Study Home Page is also a great “search” strategy. Click into any study, and you will find all the information we have been able to gather about the study.Use the Summary for a quick review, then click into the “view details” to understand the full scope of the research – methodology, survey type, sampling, scope, geography, subject terms used to tag the dataset, PI, and much more. You’ll also find a link to all of the journal articles, reports, and presentations we’ve been able to link to the dataset (where the data was used as part of the analysis within the article). This is a great way to understand whether this data is for you.
Instructional materials are another way to “share” research data – in addition to educating the next generation.
While most of our current archive ‘collections’ are full-service (onsite staff process and disseminate data onsite using our full infrastructure), and increasing number of projects are using ‘pieces’ of our services.
Explore live.Note that recording of DMP webinar is on this page.
22 pages of guidelines and references even including a sample plan available for download.
Ingest refers to improvements in our internal (staff) computing systems – ICPSR has implemented secure data environment ensuring data (and research subjects) are protective at the moment the data arrives to our system.Application (contracting) and monitoring of the progress of the research and status of the data – the restricted contracting system assists research teams in submitting contracts and updating as team members change over the course of several years as the research continues. No more lost documents, including IRB approvals, as all are housed online in our secure cloud.Computing in the cloud – our external (data user) computing systems for distribution of data – our virtual data enclaves ensure the sponsor of the research that research subjects are protected while easing the data protection plan requirements for data analysts.
We are in the development phase of technology for disseminating video research data!