The Social Science Data Library (SSDL) is Temple University's repository for computerized social science data and a primary center for expertise in the analysis and presentation of such data.

ICPSR 2013 Undergraduate Summer Program

Applications are now being taken for the 2013 ICPSR Summer Undergraduate Internship Program, an intensive, ten-week program for undergraduate students interested in social science research.

The NSF-funded program matches students with mentors at ICPSR, and supports exploration of a research question from start to finish -- including literature searches, data analyses, and creation of conference-ready posters summarizing students' research findings.

Applications are now being taken through an on-line application portal. Two letters of recommendation are required, and can also be sent over the Web. The deadline is January 31, 2013.

For examples of research projects that 2012 interns completed, see these videos.

American Community Survey 5-Year Census Data Is Now Available!

The American Community Survey (ACS) has replaced the Census' "Long Form," which contains a much wider set of variables compared to the "Short Form." The ACS is conducted every year and is released in three versions: the 1-year product; the 3-year product; and the 5-year product. The first edition of the 5-year product is now available. It is the first version of the ACS that contains data down to the census-tract level. The SSDL will be compiling data sets that include the nine counties in the Philadelphia area.

Philadelphia Education Longitude Study (PELS)

Temple's Social Science Data Library is the new home for PELS. PELS tracks approximately 2000 public school students in the School District of Philadelphia from the summer after the eighth grade year, in 1996, through to three years past expected graduation, 2003. Detailed telephone surveys of students and their parents were conducted with survey questions covering a wide range of topics, from attitude towards school, feeling of safety, sexual behavior, postsecondary expectations, access to information about colleges and careers, extracurricular activities, and civic engagement. Make an appointment to register for access to these data.

For Counters

For Sorters

Support for Quantitative Data

Analysis (Counters)

The SSDL supports researchers using quantitative data in a number of ways. We provide general assistance in formulating research questions, identifying secondary data sets that can help answer those questions, as well as in figuring out the appropriate analytical techniques for the problem. We can help you use several quantitative data analysis software packages. Currently, we support SPSS, Stata, AMOS (for structural equation modeling), and HLM (for hierarchical linear modeling). We also can provide very basic assistance with SAS.

Notes and recordings from past Quantitative Brown Bags

Support for Qualitative Data

Analysis (Sorters)

The SSDL supports qualitative data analysts with advice on methods, qualitative data analysis software, and networking for qualitative researchers.

Ask us for a class presentation demonstrating Atlas.ti

We invite you to participate in a series of Brown Bag Discussions for Qualitative researchers. Past meetings have discussed the problems of figuring out how to use grounded theory in the real world, and analyzed how researchers decide what to include in field notes and analytic memos and how the notes are used in the larger study.

Notes from past Qualitative Brown Bags

The Quantitative Brown Bag

Discussion Series Presents:

TBA

The Qualitative Brown Bag

Discussion Series Presents:

TBA

For Mappers

Support for Spatial Data Analysts

ArcGIS Users -- The SSDL can provide you with shape files for the Philadelpia area, including county, Philadelphia MSA and shape files for other geographies. Click Analyze Data on the Web on our menu bar, then click on Geographic Data to see the shape files available for download. If you are interested in other shape files, call us or Request Data, and we will try to help you.

Need a Custom Map? If you have data that you would like to display in a map but you don't know how to do it, the SSDL can consult with Temple students, faculty and staff about how to make maps that display your research results in an understandable way. We can display information about the Philadelphia area for different geographic units, including county, zip code, neighborhood, census tract, and, within Philadelphia, individual property.

Data Seminars

The SSDL offers periodic seminars about data collections of interest to the community.

We plan to invite a representive of the census to talk about data collection for the 2010 Census: preparation, operationalization, changes, and expected results.

Information about past Data Seminars

Community Health Data Base: 2008 Data Available!

In 2003, Temple University joined the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation's (PHMC) Community Health Data Base, giving faculty, students, and staff access to PHMC's biannual Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Survey and geographically-related vital statistics, home mortgage, property, and tax data. The survey includes information about the health status, personal health behaviors, access to and utilization of area health services, and other issues for some 13,000 residents in the five county Pennsylvania side of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Geographically-related data are available at the census tract, zip code, county, and regional level. SSDL has the data for 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.

SSDL American FactFinder FAQ and Guide

American FactFinder is the Census Bureau's primary vehicle for the dissemination of Census 2000 data and maps on the Internet. American FactFinder makes it possible to get demographic data about geographic areas as small as neighborhoods or even block level. Our new FAQ and guide to FactFinder introduces you to the site and helps you get started locating your own data!