Publicly available data sets for primary and secondary analysis:

Contact persons: Roger Finke, Jody Wilkinson, and Jennifer L. McKinney, American Religion Data Archive, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Purdue University, 1365 Stone Hall, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1365; phone (765) 494-0081; fax (765) 496-1476; email: archive@sri.soc.purdue.edu.

The American Religion Data Archive (ARDA) is an Internet-based data archive that stores and distributes quantitative data sets from the leading studies on American religion . Supported by the Lilly Endowment and housed at Purdue University, ARDA strives to preserve data files for future use, prepare the data files for immediate public use, and make the data files easily accessible to all.

Contact person: Piper Simmons, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), The University of Michigan, PO Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; phone (734) 936-1807; fax (734) 764-8041; email: piper@umich.edu,  homepage: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu.

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), located within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, is a membership-based, nonprofit organization serving member colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. ICPSR provides:

• Access to the world's largest archive of computerized social science data;
• Training facilities for the study of quantitative social analysis techniques; and
• Resources for social scientists are using advanced computer technologies.

In addition to information provided at the poster session, further information may be found on ICPSR’s home page, listed above.

Contact person: William Frey, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, 1225 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104; phone (313) 994-3847; fax (313) 998-7145; email William.Frey@umich.edu;; homepage: http://www.psc.lsa.umich.edu/SSDAN.

This exhibit provides an overview of workbooks, computer diskettes, Internet, and on-line access to undergraduate teaching materials available through the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN). Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), the Network enables college teachers to introduce "user-friendly" analysis of census data in their classes. Tailor made data sets, from the 1950 through 1990 U.S. Censuses, and the Current Population Survey, can be used in a variety of social science classes dealing with topics such as: race/ethnicity, immigration, gender studies, marriage, households and poverty, income inequality, children, the elderly and others. SSDAN staff will help instructors tailor exercises for classes.

Contact persons: Shobana Raghupathy, James Peterson, Michael Carley, and Anjalique Gibson, Sociometrics Corporation, 170 State Street, Suite 260, Los Altos, CA 94022-2812; phone (650) 949-3282 x 206; fax (650) 949-3299; email: shobana@socio.com; homepage: http://www.socio.com.

The Contextual Data Archive brings together variables from more than 15 different data sets that contain contextual data at various geographic levels, such as Census tracts, counties, and school districts. The goal of the Contextual Data Archive is to organize the data into a series of data files each at a different level of geography, and to distribute the data to researchers and others for research, and program and policy analyses. The variables included cover a wide range of subjects relevant to the social sciences, including basic demographic and socioeconomic data, household data, education and labor statistics, family planning and health data, information on ethnic and religious characteristics, and policy variables (e.g., percent receiving various forms of public assistance, and expenditures on social services). The Archive is only contextual; no individual-level data are included.

The Archive also contains a literature base with abstracts of documents and publications pertaining to contextual research as well as methodological papers addressing the methods and limitations of contextual data analysis. The data archive includes search and retrieval software allowing users to identify variables in the data archive using specific keywords, examine the descriptive statistics for any variable, and generate SPSS or SAS program set up files for variables selected and saved via the search and retrieval.

The data will be distributed via CD-ROM, and FTP download via Sociometrics web site, http://www.socio.com. A printed User’s Guide and a software manual accompany the CD-ROM.

The project is funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and operates under the guidance of a national advisory panel of leading social scientists who have substantive and methodological expertise in contextual-level research.

Contact persons: Lynne M. Casper, Herman A. Alvarado, Loretta E. Bass, Kurt J. Bauman, and Amy M. Symersn, Population Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. 20233-8800; phone (301) 457-2422; fax (301) 457-2643; email: pop@census.gov; homepage: http://www.census.gov.

The Population Division of the U.S. Census Bureau presents information on five of its data resources: the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the Survey of Program Dynamics, the Current Population Survey, the American Community Survey, and Population Projections and Estimates. Specifics about each data source such as the topics covered, the survey design, the advantages of using that particular data source, the types of data files that are available, and the reports that are written using data from these sources will be provided.

Contact person: Linda L. Shafer, National Center for Education Statistics, 50 F Street, NW, Suite 950, Washington, DC, 20001; phone (202) 661-6150; fax (202) 737-4918; email: lshafer@air-dc.org,   homepage: http://www.ed.gov/NCES/.

The focus of this exhibit will be on a new service that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education is offering for users of NCES data. In-depth, technical assistance will be provided to qualified researchers to enhance their knowledge and ability to use NCES data sets for research and policy analysis.

In-depth Technical Assistance Program for NCES Data Users is specifically designed according to the needs of participants. The major goal of this program is to work intensively on a selected research project using NCES data. When possible, persons who have had major roles in designing or conducting the particular NCES survey will be invited to make informal presentations and may be available for in-depth discussions and consultation on particular research issues. Staff trained in using the data will be available for individualized instruction and problem-solving.

This technical assistance is open to researchers who want to broaden their understanding of and capacity to use NCES data. It is anticipated that participants will include advanced graduate students, faculty, and researchers/analysts from education agencies and organizations. Applicants should be interested in education policy research and have basic skills in statistics and statistical software packages.

The schedule for the In-depth Technical Assistance Program for NCES Data Users will be determined jointly by NCES and accepted participants. The training will take place at either NCES, on New Jersey Avenue in Washington, DC, or at the offices of the Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI) adjacent to NCES. Both facilities are near public transportation and are accessible to persons with disabilities. There are no charges for instruction, computers, or training materials. NCES will provide some financial assistance to help cover costs of transportation and hotel accommodations. Brochures with more information on how to apply to the program will be available.

Contact persons: Jordan Leiter, National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, and Kaye Marz, National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, University of Michigan.

Contact Leiter at the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 810 7^th Street, Washington, DC 20001; phone (202) 616-9487; fax (202) 616-0275; email: leiterj@ojp.usdoj.gov,   homepage: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.  

Contact Marz at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, ICPSR, University of Michigan; phone: (734) 936-1822; e-mail: kaye@icpsr.umich.edu;   homepage: www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD.

NIJ’s Data Resources Program and the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data will be demonstrated and discussed. The program was established to ensure the preservation and availability of research and evaluation data collected through NIJ-funded research. Data sets collected through NIJ-funded research are archived and made available to others in order to support new research to replicate original findings or test new hypotheses. Together with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), NIJ’s Data Resources Program supports the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data which houses all data from NIJ sponsored research, and makes available online for downloading machine-readable copies (in SPSS, SAS or ASCII), together with data dictionaries and study abstracts. The Archive is maintained by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan.

Contact person: Kelly Kang, Division of Science Resources Studies, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA, 22230; phone (703) 306-1774, ext. 6943; fax (703) 306-0510; email: kkang@nsf.gov;  homepage: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm.

The mission of the Division of Science Resources Studies (SRS) is to produce and disseminate data and analyses related to science, engineering, and technology. SRS focuses on the amounts of human and financial resources input into the Nation's science, engineering, and technology enterprise, the way these resources are utilized, and the results of these activities. To do this, SRS produces information by designing, sponsoring, co-sponsoring, and conducting surveys and soliciting comparable international data. SRS also analyzes these data in order to help policy-makers, administrators, and others understand the implications of the data and its limitations, and works to make data available to many constituents.

At the present time, SRS maintains data on a wide range of science and engineering (S&E) issues and promotes use of databases by researchers to examine topical issues. Examples of topics reflected in the SRS sponsored work are S&E education at all levels with details on gender, race, field, institutional type, financial support; S&E personnel and career paths for both researchers and academics including education history, citizenship, disability status, employment status, field of study, job assignment and salaries, and degree level; S&E research infrastructure at universities and colleges, quality, quantity, and needs funding and expenditures for S&E research for colleges and universities; data on industrial research and development; and public attitudes to name a few. The exhibit highlights the availability of data files through SRS that are of particular interest to sociologists. S&E funds are defined as areas related to life science, physical science, computer/math science, social science, and engineering.

Contact persons: Linda Piccinino, Anjani Chandra, and Joyce Abma, Reproductive Statistics Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 840, Hyattsville, MD 20782; phone (301) 436-8731, ext. 122; fax (301) 436-5830; email: ljp2@cdc.gov; homepage: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/nchshome.htm.

The National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 5, is a comprehensive data set of women’s fertility in the United States, now publicly available. New features in Cycle 5 include event histories and an array of contextual data at three points in time. Computer-assisted personal interviews with 10,847 women ages 15-44 contain supplemental information collected using Audio-CASI technology.

Contact person: Cheryl Nelson, National Center for Health Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 952, Hyattsville, MD 20782: phone (301) 436-7132 ext. 176; fax (301) 436-7955; email: crn1@cdc.gov; homepage: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/about/major/nhcs/nhcs.htm.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), conducted periodically from 1973-85 and annually since 1989, collects data on a sample of visits from a national sample of non-federal, office-based physicians. In 1996, data were collected on 30,000 visits from 3,000 physicians. The survey provides information on the characteristics of the patient, the physician practice, and the visit. The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), conducted annually since 1992, collects similar data from a national sample of emergency (ED) and outpatient departments (OPD) in general and short-stay hospitals. In 1996, data were collected on 22,000 ED visits and 30,000 OPD visits. Data from the NAMCS and NHAMCS can be combined to obtain a comprehensive picture of ambulatory medical care utilization.

Contact person: Barbara J. Haupt, Long-term Care Statistics Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health Care Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 952 Hyattsville, MD 20782; phone (301) 436-8830, ext. 164; fax (301) 436-7955; email: bjh6@cdc.gov.

The National Nursing Home Survey (NHHS) is a sample survey conducted in 1973-74, 1977, 1985, 1995, and 1997. It provides data on 8,036 residents of 1,049 responding nursing homes. Facility data include ownership, certification, bed size, location, affiliation, staffing, charges for care, and services available to residents. Resident data include basic demographics, functional status, diagnoses, length of stay, sources of payment, and services received. Data are weighted to provide national estimates.

The National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) is a sample survey conducted in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998. It provides data on home health agencies and hospices and their current patients and discharges. The 1996 NHHCS included data on 5,438 current patients and 4,758 recently discharged patients from 1,053 home and hospice care agencies. Facility data include ownership, certification, location, affiliation, and services available to patients. Patient data include basic demographics, living arrangements, functional status, diagnoses, length of stay, source of payment, services received, service providers, and reason for discharge on all discharges. Data are weighted to provide national estimates.

Contact persons: Barbara Altman and Margaret Weigers, Agency for Health Care Policy & Research, CCFF, Suite 500, 2101 E. Jefferson Street, Rockville, MD 20852; phone (301) 594-1406; fax (301) 594-2166; email: baltman@cghsir.ahcpr.gov.

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, is the Federal Government’s focal point for research to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services and access to those services. AHCPR accomplishes these goals through the establishment of a broad base of scientific research on the organization, financing and delivery of health care services, the collection of extensive, detailed data on health status and service use, and through the promotion of improvements in clinical practice.

Sponsored by AHCPR, in conjunction with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a vital new resource designed to continually provide policymakers, researchers, health care professionals, businesses and others with timely, comprehensive information about the United States population’s health, health care utilization, and costs. Through the integration of four components, MEPS collects data on the specific health care services that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the cost of those services and how they are paid, as well as data on the cost, scope, and breadth of private health insurance held by and available to the U. S. population. MEPS is unparalleled for the degree of detail in its data, as well as its ability to link health status and health care to the demographic, employment, economic, family and other characteristics of survey respondents. In addition, MEPS is the only national survey that provides a foundation for estimating the impact of changes in sources of payment, insurance coverage, family status on different economic groups or special populations such as the poor, elderly, veterans, the uninsured, and racial and ethnic minorities. The data collected in Round 1 is available on the Internet and on CD-Rom and full year data will be available in the fall of 1998.

Contact person: Irene Browne, Department of Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322; phone (404) 727-7508; fax (404) 727-7532; email ibrown@soc.emory.edu.

The Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality (MCSUI) is a data set consisting of household and employers surveys conducted between 1992 and 1994 in four cities: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles. A large area-probability based sample of households, with over-sampling of racially-segregated and poorer neighborhoods, was selected in each city. Randomly selected adults from each household were interviewed about their labor market experiences, residential preferences, and perceptions of their own and other racial groups. Respondents with recent labor force experience provided interviewers with information about their employer and work location, forming an employment-based sample of employers that was combined with an establishment-based sample. These employers were

Contacted and interviewed by telephone, supplying information on hiring and pay practices, skill requirements, and the racial and ethnic composition of the labor force. There are 8,916 households and 3,497 employers in the data set. Household and employer data sets are available through the ICPSR.

Contact person: Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, 1155 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637; phone (773) 256-6288; fax (773) 753-7886; email: smitht@norcmail.uchicago.edu; homepage: http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/.

The Directorate for the General Social Survey (GSS) of the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, monitors social change in the United States. Since 1972, the GSS has gathered data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes of the adult population. These high quality data are easily accessible to a broad-based user community, including researchers, teachers in colleges and universities, students at undergraduate and graduate levels, business and corporate planners, journalists, and public officials who need to understand the pulse of our country in their work. The 22 national probability samples include interviews of 32,380 respondents. Of the 3,400 items that have been asked, there are time trends for over 1,000 items.

Two recent developments regarding the GSS are featured--the GSS Data and Information Retrieval System (GSSDIRS) and the 1998 GSS. The GSSDIRS is a new Web product that links together code book, trends, bibliography, project reports, and other documentation; permits on-line analysis and data sub-setting; and provides the latest information via an announcement section,

Contact with the GSS staff, and a GSS newsgroup. The 1998 GSS contains supplements on religion, mental health, sexual behavior, work orientation, social security, social capital, culture, and social networks.