Access BIG social science data

Published: 16 March 2017

Here's how you can access the world's largest collection of digital social science data.

By Suzy Maxwell, Glasgow Q-Step Centre, Project Administrator & Internship Lead, School of Social and Political Sciences.

Image of the Q-Step branding‌Are you interested in determining the average age at which men versus women begin smoking? What if you need to know whether age at marriage differs between your region of the country and other regions, or about differences in political attitudes based on age, gender, education, race, or ethnicity? These and countless other questions can be answered by studies in the data holdings of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

ICPSR data cover topics from sociology, political science, economics, demography, education, child care, health care, crime, minority populations, aging, terrorism, substance abuse, mental health, public policy, and international relations.

ICPSR is the world's largest collection of digital social science data. These data can be used for secondary research, instructional activities, and to write articles, papers or theses.

All University of Glasgow staff, students and faculty have access to the extensive ICPSR data holdings via any campus computer. Access is direct and quick via the ICPSR website. First-time users will be asked to create an ICPSR MyData account; thereafter, you will need your email address and password to download data. Local assistance in locating, accessing and analyzing ICPSR data is available; contact personnel are listed on the ICPSR Help pages.

Find out more

First published: 16 March 2017

<< 2017 Mar-Apr