Read The Blackwell Companion to Sociology Online
Authors: Judith R Blau
QualPage
The QualPage website provides resources to qualitative researchers. Included in this site is information regarding conferences and workshops, qualitative approaches, disciplines and foundations, discussion forums, grant information, and methodology. Additionally, the site provides links to electronic journals, organizations and interest groups, papers, and software resources.
http://www.ualberta.ca/~jrnorris/qual.html
Social Science Computing Library (SSCL)
The SSCL is a computing facility operated by the Faculty of Social Science. Its objective is to provide software and services to researchers. Researchers can access Statistics Canada's computerized data bank, which includes the time-series database CANSIM through the SSCL. CANSIM includes 55,000 time series on retail trade, national accounts, energy, labor force earnings, etc.
http://www.sscl.uwo.ca/explore/datainfolib.html
Statistics Canada
The Statistics Canada website, available in both English and French, provides researchers with free tabular data on aspects of Canada's economy, land, people, and government.
Further, it provides free census data, education resources, daily news updates, and access to the CANSIM time series and trade statistics databases, research papers, and publications. Researchers can also order CD-ROM copies of the Labour Force Historical
Review (US$195) and the Inter-Corporate Ownership 1998 guide.
http://www.statcan.ca/start.html
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China
China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS)
Conducted by an international team of researchers, the CHNS examines the effects of health, nutrition, and family planning policies and programs implemented by national and local governments, and explores the impact of social and economic transformation upon the health and nutritional status of the Chinese population. The CHNS used a multistage, random cluster design to draw a sample of about 3,800 households in eight provinces of China. Detailed community data were collected in surveys of food markets, health facilities, family planning officials, and other social services and community leaders. The 1989, 1991, and 1993 CHNS data are available via anonymous FTP. Copies of the 1989, 1991, and 1993 CHNS questionnaires are available in Adobe Acrobat format.
http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/china/china_home.html
China in Time and Space (CITAS)
CITAS aims to collect and disseminate contemporary and historical data on China to scholars and other non-commercial users. The project utilizes geographic information system technology (GIS) to integrate map data, and allows for longitudinal and historical comparative research. CITAS data include vectorized base maps of China, geo-referenced socioeconomic data, bibliographic references, and utilities for coding data. Data are provided at minimal cost and are available in SPSS, ASCII, or ARC/INFO interchange formats.
http://citas.csde.washington.edu/org/org_guide.html
Databank for China Studies (DCS)
The DCS has collected social science data for the People's Republic of China since 1995.
The archive includes over 20 large and medium-sized data sets, covering topics such as household surveys, economics, women, fertility, and the elderly. Access to data is restricted to academic researchers, who must apply to the center. Usage fees are determined on a case by case basis.
http://www.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/databank.asp
Croatia
Croatian Bureau of Statistics (CBS)
The CBS collects, processes, analyzes, and publishes Croatian statistical data and provides aid to researchers. Most of its publications are published in portable document format (PDF), which is readable in Adobe Acrobat.
http://www.dzs.hr/Eng/Default.htm
Czech Republic
Czech Statistical Office (CzSo)
The CzSo provides statistical publications to the Czech government, experts, and the public. Most publications are in Czech, unless otherwise stated, and can be ordered online. The CzSo charges US$1 for every five pages of text, excluding postal charges.
http://infox.eunet.cz/csu/csu_e.html
Data Resources on the World Wide Web
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Denmark
Danish Data Archives (DDA)
Part of the Danish State Archive, the DDA serves as the national data bank for researchers and students in Denmark. The archive holds over 1,800 survey data and statistical files in the fields of political science, sociology, social medicine, history, demography, economics, and regional studies. Documents are available in machine-readable form and in book form. The DDA also includes the Danish Demographic Database, which contains census and emigration data from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A catalogue of holdings and newsletter are available from the archives.
http://www.dda.dk/
Estonia
The Estonian Social Science Data Archives (ESSDA)
The ESSDA, located in the University of Tartu, is an interdisciplinary center that acts as the national data bank of Estonia. Its objective is to contribute to the maintenance and use of Estonian social science information. Coordinating its efforts with the Academic Union of Estonian Sociologists (AUES), it has collected 214 data sets between 1975 and 1994.
http://sys130.psych.ut.ee/esta/essda.html
France
Banque de DonneÂes Socio-politique (BDSP)
The BDSP collects, archives, and distributes machine-readable data related to political science, sociology, and history. These data include spatial data and time series of French electoral results, survey data, and public opinion polls. It is a member of CESSDA, IFDO, and the ICPSR Archive.
http://solcidsp.upmf-grenoble.fr
Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique (INIST)
INIST, associated with the National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), is one of the premier centers of scientific and technical information in Europe. The mission of INIST is to collect and disseminate the results of scientific and technical research.
http://www.inist.fr/
Germany
Central Archive (Zentralarchiv ± ZA)
An institute of the Cologne Association for Social Research, the ZA archives data from all fields of empirical research, with an emphasis upon survey data. The data collections include national election studies, consumer studies, leisure and tourism studies, communication and mass media research, the German General Social Surveys, and Eurobarometer research.
http://www.za.uni-koeln.de/index-e.htm
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Center for Survey Research and Methodology (ZUMA)
ZUMA aims to assist and advise researchers on the design and execution of social science research, especially surveys. It also prepares census data and provides access to income and consumer research, microdata, and social indicators.
http://www.zuma-mannheim.de/index-e.htm
German Socio-economic Panel (GSOEP)
The GSOEP, begun in 1984, is an ongoing representative longitudinal study of private households in Germany. The GSOEP originally included only individuals living in West Germany, but was expanded in 1990 to include East Germans as well. The study explores living conditions and changes over time. This web site also provides links to working papers.
http://www.diw-berlin.de/soep/soepe.htm
Guatemala
1995 Guatemalan Survey of Family Health (EGSF)
The Guatemalan Family Life Survey is a non-representative set of detailed household and community surveys conducted by RAND. The EGSF examines rural Guatemalan
families, the ways in which they cope with childhood illnesses and pregnancy, and the roles of ethnicity, poverty, social support, and health beliefs in these processes. In all, 4,792 households and 2,872 women aged 18±35 have been interviewed for this survey.
http://www.rand.org/FLS/
Hong Kong
Social Sciences Research Center (SSRC)
Established by the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Hong Kong, the SSRC
promotes interdisciplinary research, fosters ties with other research institutions, and offers consulting services. The SSRC is currently developing a Social Science Data Archive containing data sets relevant to Hong Kong and China, and includes an index of outside data sets.
http://www.ssrc.hku.hk/
Hungary
Social Research Informatics Centre (TARKI)
TARKI was founded in 1985 by ten major social science research institutions in Hungary.
The purpose of TARKI is to collect, process, archive, and publish relevant social science data. The data archive includes over 300 sociological and socio-statistical surveys from the past 15 years. TARKI also conducts several policy-oriented research projects that study the size and development of the private sector, the public perception of privatization, and the effectiveness of welfare programs within Hungary. Data are available online in SPSS format or through the mail.
http://www.tarki.hu/
Data Resources on the World Wide Web
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Indonesia
Indonesian Family Life Survey, 1993 (IFLS)
The IFLS was conducted by RAND as a set of household and community surveys. In
1993, individuals from 13 provinces in 7,224 households (83 percent of the population) were surveyed regarding issues such as fertility, family planning, infant and child health, migration, employment, the elderly, and children.
http://www.rand.org/organization/drd/labor/FLS/ or ICPSR
Israel
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)
The CBS provides researchers with updated statistical information, including the previous month's price indices, the Census of Population and Housing, and monthly bulletins of prices. Statistical publications are also available online.
http://www.cbs.gov.il/engindex.htm
Geobase, Israel Regional Database
Developed and run by the SSDA, Geobase is a geographic data warehouse which
stores statistical information on topics such as economics, labor, population, transportation, tourism, housing, and education. This information is collected from statistical publications, local authorities, public service records, and the Central Bureau of Statistics.
http://geobase.huji.ac.il/docs/overview.htm
Social Sciences Data Archive (SSDA)
Established by the Faculty of Social Sciences at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the SSDA collects, preserves, and distributes social science data. It includes more than 800
data sets, covering subjects such as survey data, census micro-data, government records, immigration, and macroeconomic series. Its user community includes all Israeli universities, professionals, and policy-makers. Others may request access to data but are charged for the cost of the data set. Data are supplied through FTP, floppy disks, CD-ROM, and/or computer cassettes.
http://ssda.huji.ac.il/intmenu.htm
Italy
Archivio Dati e Programmi per le Scienze (ADPSS)
Part of the Istituto Superiore di Sociologia, the ADPSS specializes in the collection of ecological and survey data files in Italian urban and political studies.
http://www.nsd.uib.no/cessda/adpss.html
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Jamaica
Derek Gordon Data Bank
The Derek Gordon Data Bank, located at the University of the West Indies at Mona, collects and provides access to social and economic data and promotes comparative data analysis on a regional level. Access to data is free for Caribbean social science researchers and policy-makers and is provided on a user-charge basis to researchers elsewhere. The Data Bank's holdings include the Survey of Living Conditions (Jamaica) 1989±1993 and the Labour Force Survey 1990, 1992±1993.
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/datalib/other/dgdb.htm
Japan
Information Center for Social Science Research on Japan (SSJ Data Archive)
Established by the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo, the SSJ Data Archive provides a collection of data from social and statistical surveys. Data from the archive are available only to academic researchers in Japan.
http://www.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/pages/ssjda-re/
National Survey of Japanese Elderly 1987
This study, a national probability sample of non-institutionalized persons aged 60 or older, was designed for use in cross-cultural analyses of aging in the United States and Japan. Data collected by the study include information on demographics, social integration, health status, subjective well-being and mental health, psychological indicators, financial situation, memory, and interviewer observations. Data can be obtained in SAS
or SPSS formats, and the codebook is available via a PDF file.
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACDA/archive.html
Korea
Korean Social Science Data Center (KSDC)
The KSDC, established in 1997, collects and manages domestic and international social science data. The Center is a contributing member of the ICPSR, and translates Korean data into English for foreign researchers. The Korean data are composed primarily of election surveys. Both institutions and individuals may obtain KSDC membership for a specified fee.
http://www.ksdc.re.kr/m1/me1.html
Latvia
Central Statistical Bureau (CSB)
The CSB collects and disseminates important Latvian socioeconomic indicators via the Internet.
http://www.csb.lv/
Data Resources on the World Wide Web
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Lithuania
Lithuanian Department of Statistics (StD)
The StD collects and disseminates important Lithuanian statistical information via the Internet.
http://www.std.lt/
Luxembourg
Luxembourg Employment Study (LES Project)
The LES, a project associated with LIS (see below), was begun in 1994. The purpose of the project has been to construct a databank of labor force surveys, beginning in the early 1990s, for 13 countries of varying labor market structures. The data from these surveys have been standardized to allow for comparative research.
http://www.lis.ceps.lu/index.htm
Luxembourg Income Study (LIS)
The LIS is an interdisciplinary cooperative research project including micro-data from more than 25 countries. The LIS allows analysis of labor market behavior on both individual and household levels, industrial and educational patterns, and retirement decisions. It includes the Comparative Welfare States Data Set, which can be downloaded in zip-file format online.