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October 27, 2006

From NCES Newsflash: New for NAEP Researchers: Variables Listed for Restricted-Use Data

Researchers often need to know which variables are available across several years of datasets. For each of the restricted-use datasets from main and long-term trend NAEP 1990 through 2003, the variables are now available in comprehensive lists that can be downloaded to facilitate locating variables of interest. These lists of variables will be most useful to researchers whose institutions are licensed for secondary analysis of NAEP data. However, users of the NAEP Data Explorer also may find these lists useful.

Note that secondary data analysts using NAEP data from 2002 or later should be sure that they have NAEP Data Toolkit version 1.7 or higher. This version handles the larger sample sizes from combined national and state samples. Restricted-use data for 2004 and 2005 long-term trend and main NAEP will be added to this list soon.

To learn more about the restricted use variables files, visti: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/variablesrudata.asp

To use the NAEP Data Explorer, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/

Posted by ronbo at 07:02 PM

From NCES Newsflash: The PISA (Program for International Student Assesment) 2003 U.S. datafile has been posted to the NCES website.

The PISA 2003 U.S. datafile is now available for downloading. The datafile includes variables unique to the U.S. context, such as race/ethnicity, that are not available in the international dataset. Data for the performance of 15-year-olds on an internationally created assessment in mathematics, science, and reading literacies for 49 countries is also included along with background information on the students and schools. As with other NCES datafiles, a user's guide and an electronic codebook with macros and control files for SPSS and SAS are posted on the website.

To view and download the PISA 2003 U.S. datafile and related information go to: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/datafiles.asp

Posted by ronbo at 06:54 PM

October 26, 2006

From Census Product Update: Recently Released

October 19, 2006

Population

Detailed Tables Provide Data on Educational Attainment and School Enrollment. Online tables in spreadsheet format (about 1,200 tables) provide data in greater detail than other Census 2000 products. Tables for 15 race groups and each of the states cover subjects that include the education of native- and foreign-born residents by age, education by labor force status, earnings by education level, school enrollment by age and characteristics of adults enrolled in school.

More Than 39 Million Americans Changed Addresses Last Year. Read more in Geographical Mobility: 2005. Internet files containing national and regional information on how often and how far people move, along with characteristics of the movers and their reasons for moving.

Census Bureau Releases Third Wave of 2005 American Community Survey Data (Housing Characteristics). The latest release shows housing characteristics for nearly 7,000 areas, including all congressional districts and counties, cities, and American Indian/Alaska Native areas of 65,000 population or more. Data include types of homes, median value, heating fuel used, and plumbing facilities.

Latest Economic Indicators

Monthly Wholesale Trade: August 2006. Press release showing estimates for sales, inventories on a non-LIFO ("last in-first out") basis, and stock-sales ratios for merchant wholesalers by three-digit major kind-of-business groups.

Quarterly Financial Report for Retail Trade: 2nd Quarter 2006. Press release shows second quarter sales of large retail trade corporations. Includes large U.S. retailers' after-tax profits.

U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: August 2006. Press release showing monthly exports, general imports (including data by country), and limited data on imports for consumption.

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services: September 2006. Press release presenting advance monthly estimates of retail store sales by kind-of-business groups. Report includes seasonally adjusted estimates and percentage changes for major kind-of-business groups.

Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales: August 2006. Press release showing sales, inventories, and inventories-to-sales ratios for the combined domestic activities of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers.

New Residential Construction: September 2006. Press release showing data for housing starts, completions, and building permits.

Economic Census and Surveys

2002 Survey of Business Owners, Characteristics of Businesses. Internet tables and report in PDF (PDF - 7.56mb) showing data for respondent firms by Hispanic or Latino origin, race, and gender and presented by industry classifications at the U.S. level and by size of firm (employment and receipts). Data include additional demographic and economic business characteristics for home-based, family-owned, and franchised businesses; types of customers and workers; sources of financing for expansion, capital improvements, or start-up; the year the owner(s) in 2002 established, purchased, or acquired the business; and the sole proprietor's self-employment or business activities.

2002 Survey of Business Owners, Characteristics of Business Owners. Internet tables and report in PDF (PDF - 512kb) showing data for the owners of respondent firms presented by employment status and business interest. Data include additional demographic and economic owner characteristics, such as: Hispanic or Latino origin, race, gender, age, education level, and veteran status; average number of hours spent managing or working in the business; primary function in the business; and whether the business provided the primary source of personal income.

Zip Code Business Patterns 2003-2004 Released on DVD. Files on DVD presenting business establishment counts summarized for nine employment-size classes by hundreds of NAICS codes and about 40,000 ZIP codes nationwide. A second data set includes summary data by ZIP code (no NAICS or employment-size class breakdown) for number of employees, first-quarter payroll, annual payroll, and total number of establishments. (Product ID: V1-E04-ZCBP-09-US1, $70)

Governments

2005 State and Local Government Employee-Retirement Systems. Annual data on revenues, expenditures, financial assets, and membership for public employee-retirement systems. Data are shown for individual retirement systems as well as overall at the national, state, and local levels.

Reference and Compendia

Facts for Features. Collections of statistics from the Census Bureau's demographic and economic subject areas commemorate anniversaries or observances or provide background information for topics in the news:

Special Edition: 300 Million People

Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - Oct. 15)

Halloween (October 31, 2006)

Veteran's Day (November 11, 2006)

American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November)

Posted by ronbo at 05:55 PM

From E-Social Science Newsletter: MixedMediaGrid (MiMeG) Software now available

[E-SOCIAL-SCIENCE-NEWS Digest - 19 Sep 2006 to 26 Oct 2006 (#2006-16)]

Software developed by the NCeSS MixedMediaGrid Research Node is now available.

The software:

- allows real time discussion and analysis of video data between two or more remote sites
- supports multiple data types (e.g. digital video in various formats, transcripts, images)
- enables participants to annotate the video stream and to see each others' annotations
- provides opportunities to save annotations for review and further analysis
- is available in PC and Mac versions

For more information about the MiMeG node, and the software available, please visit http://www.ncess.ac.uk/research/nodes/MiMeG/software/

Posted by ronbo at 04:26 PM

From E-Social Science Newsletter: Special Issue on Data Mining Applications on Supercomputing and Grid Environments

[E-SOCIAL-SCIENCE-NEWS Digest - 19 Sep 2006 to 26 Oct 2006 (#2006-16)]

Dealing with the massive quantity and diversity of data generated by research and industry presents one of the defining challenges to data mining. The huge size of many databases together with online documents presents an opportunity to discover previously unobserved patterns. There is now widespread recognition that it is possible to extract previously unknown knowledge from large datasets using machine learning techniques. For this reason there is a growing body of research concerned with the use of parallel and grid computing for data mining. The challenge is not only algorithmic but also the management of the large amounts of associated data and the provision of a user interface.

The special issue is targeted at researchers actively involved in data mining on Supercomputing and Grid environments. It will focus on Data Mining tools and applications to explore the opportunities and challenges of data discovery via the Grid and Supercomputing resources.

All papers are subject to strict peer review process before publication. All submitted papers should comply with the instructions for authors available at: http://www.medjcn.com/index.htm
Deadline for submission of manuscripts is 1 December 2006. Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to: Firat.Tekiner@manchester.ac.uk

For more information, please visit http://www.mc.manchester.ac.uk/about/publications/specialissueondatamining

Posted by ronbo at 04:24 PM

October 24, 2006

NCES Newsflash: NEW NCES REPORT! - 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04): Undergraduate Financial Aid Estimates for 12 States: 2003–04

This report presents selected findings about the price of attendance and the types and amounts of financial aid received by in-state undergraduates enrolled in public 2-year, public 4-year, and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions during the 2003–04 academic year in 12 selected states. It is based on the undergraduate data in the 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04), a nationally representative survey of postsecondary students. In addition to providing national estimates, the NPSAS:04 survey was designed to provide representative samples of undergraduates in public 2-year, public 4-year, and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in 12 states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Tennessee. Prior NPSAS studies have not been representative at the state level. For the in-state undergraduates in each of these 12 selected states, the tables in this E.D. TAB show the average tuition and fees and total price of attendance, the percentages of undergraduates receiving various types of financial aid and the average amounts received, the average net price of attendance after financial aid, average financial need and remaining need after financial aid, cumulative student loan amounts, earnings from work while enrolled, and other aspects of financing an undergraduate education. Tables of comparable national totals limited to in-state undergraduates in public 2-year, public 4-year, and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in the 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico are also provided to allow for comparisons of undergraduate financing patterns in each of the 12 selected states and the entire nation.

To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006158

Posted by ronbo at 09:28 PM

October 23, 2006

From ANES list: ANES Announcement: Online Commons opens for 2007-2009 ANES Panel Study proposals

ANES Announces a New Opportunity: Place Questions on its 2007-2009 Panel Study. The Action Begins Today.

October 23, 2006

About the 2007-2009 Panel Study

Some people believe that political science understands pretty much everything there is to know about the causes of election outcomes. But a careful look at the accumulated evidence makes it clear that what we really know a lot about is what CORRELATES with candidate preferences and vote choices and turnout. Correlations do not document causality. An interest in documenting causality has been growing in the minds of many investigators using the ANES.

Panel data are appealing for studying elections, because one of the major interests of election analysts is change over time in individuals. Whose candidate preferences crystallized before the campaign began? Which voters changed their minds in which directions throughout the primaries? Did the parties' national conventions pull any from one camp to the other – and, if so, who? Whose likelihood to turnout was enhanced by grass-roots mobilization efforts by interest groups or parties? Who was persuaded to change his or her position on a controversial issue as the result of an advertising blitz? These questions are all about change over time, and they are at the core of studying elections. To study such change requires panel data, to document which people's opinions or preferences changed and what caused that change.

The ANES 2007-2009 Panel Study will involve six ANES-based waves of interviewing with the same respondents, plus 15 additional secondary waves of data collection. The first ANES wave of data will be collected in September 2007, before the 2008 primaries begin. Subsequent ANES waves of data collection will be in June 2008 (before the parties' conventions), September 2008, and October 2008. Two post-election ANES waves will be conducted in November 2008 and in May 2009.

During the 15 secondary data collection months, questions put to our respondents will not be directly about politics. These secondary data collections are intended to minimize panel attrition, in two ways. First, each month will bring a new questionnaire to complete, so respondents will feel as if they are part of a continuing monitoring enterprise. Second, the content of the questions will vary considerably from month to month, which will minimize the likelihood that respondents uninterested in politics will choose to leave the panel for that reason. The secondary months' questionnaires will be especially enjoyable for respondents to complete and will collect supplementary data on respondents to enrich our analyses of political behavior.

The final wave of interviewing in May 2009 will equip analysts to investigate an interesting set of empirical questions that have yet to be explorable using ANES data. The question of interest here is how Americans make sense of an election outcome just after it happens, whether it is viewed differently by the supporters of the winning candidates and those of the losing candidates, and whether the outcome of an election influences Americans' confidence in the democratic process, their support for democratic institutions, their worries about the future, and many other consequential beliefs and attitudes. Each wave of interviewing will involve a random spreading of interviews across its month. That is, respondents will be randomly assigned to a week in the month on which they will be invited to complete that month’s questionnaire. This random assignment will be done independently for each month, so there will be no relation between when a person is interviewed within one wave and when he or she is interviewed within the following wave. As a result, many campaign events will occur between two consecutive interviews for some respondents and not between those same waves' interviews for other respondents. Thus, analysts will be able to include dates of interviews in their analyses to explore the impact of particular events on individuals.

About the Respondents

Our panel respondents will be part of a brand new national probability sample. The sample will be recruited by random digit dialing over the telephone or via face-to-face interviewing (yet to be determined), and then they will answer all survey questions via the Internet. We are aiming for an initial sample size of approximately 1800 cases. In addition, mid-way through the panel's life, we will recruit a fresh cross-sectional sample of respondents using the same high quality recruiting procedure used to recruit the initial panel. We will administer a set of key measures to the new cross-section respondents at the same time that panel members are interviewed with the same measures, allowing a direct comparison. If we see differences, we can again use the benchmarks to offer analysts a tool for weighting the data during analysis.

About the Online Commons

Design of the questionnaires for the 2007-2009 ANES Panel Study will evolve from proposals and comments submitted to the Online Commons (OC). The OC is an on-line system designed to promote communication among scholars and to yield innovative proposals about the most effective ways to measure electorally-relevant concepts and relationships. It conforms to best practice principles in "open source" software development and is tailored to accommodate ANES needs. The goal of the OC is to improve the quality and scientific value of ANES data collections, to encourage the submission of new ideas, and to make such experiences more beneficial to and enjoyable for investigators. In the first use of the ANES Online Commons for the 2006 ANES Pilot Study, more than 300 scholars participated, and more than 1100 questions were proposed.

Proposals for Panel Study questions must include clear theoretical and empirical rationales for question inclusion. All proposals must also clearly state how the questions will increase the value of the panel study. In particular, proposed questions must have the potential to help scholars understand the causes and/or consequences of turnout or candidate choice. These questions may be taken from the inventory of questions that have been asked in prior ANES surveys (for lists of these questions, see http://www.electionstudies.org/resources/questions/questions.htm). Or the questions may be ones not asked previously in ANES surveys but that have been asked in other sample surveys and have been shown to yield valid and reliable measurements of the constructs of interest. For questions new to the ANES, it is important that the proposer provide evidence of effective item functioning. For all questions, it is important that the proposer provide a theory-driven rationale for why the measures might help for understanding the causes and/or consequences of turnout or candidate choice.

The panel study will be more useful to social scientists if it includes a common set of questions in all of the 6 core waves. This would permit tracking change over time in factors such as candidate preferences, turnout likelihood, citizen engagement, and the principal causes and consequences of them (using some traditional measurement approaches to allow comparability across data collections). In addition, each ANES wave will include some measures assessing exposure to particular recent events to allow for gauging the impact of them. And since three of the ANES waves will be run at the same time as the 2008 time series survey, running some of its questions will permit interesting mode comparisons. In many respects, therefore, this project offers wonderful new opportunities for innovation in measurement and theory-building for the ANES.

The ANES Online Commons will begin accepting Panel Study proposals on October 23, 2006, and it will stop accepting new proposals on January 31, 2007. The Online Commons will remain open for one additional month thereafter to allow commentary and revision of the proposals. For additional information about how to submit a proposal and the proposal evaluation process, please visit: http://www.electionstudies.org

This opportunity is open to anyone who wants to make a constructive contribution to the development of ANES surveys. Feel free to pass this invitation along to anyone (e.g., your students) who you think might be interested. We hope to hear from you.

Jon A. Krosnick and Arthur Lupia
Principal Investigators American National Election Studies

ANES is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Posted by ronbo at 06:54 PM

October 20, 2006

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - October 20, 2006

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

NEW ADDITIONS:

4564 Eurobarometer 63.4: European Union Enlargement, the European Constitution, Economic Challenges, Innovative Products and Services, May-June 2005 http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/04564.xml

UPDATES:

3475 Eurobarometer 56.1: Social Exclusion and Modernization of Pension Systems, September-October 2001
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/03475.xml

4138 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2003
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/04138.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/.

Posted by ronbo at 01:26 PM

NCES Newsflash: New Customized NAEP State and National Comparisons Feature on the Web

Now you can create tables that compare states based on their average NAEP scale scores for selected groups of public school students (gender, race/ethnicity for three groups, eligibility for free or reduced-price school lunches, or high and low percentiles).

You set the scope for the state comparisons of interest. You must first select grade, subject, and student group of interest, then choose either single-year or cross-year mode, and then select the state of interest.

You can compare the scores in one year, or examine the change in performance between two assessment years. For example:
* See how the average reading score for male students in a particular state compares to the average reading score for male students in other states in 2005, or
* See how the change (from 2002 to the focal year) in reading scores for male students in a particular state compares to the change in reading scores for male students in other states.

This new feature also shows whether the selected comparisons are statistically different from one another. However, note that the sort order is based on numeric precision to several decimal places--so a state appearing higher in the sort order may not be significantly different from a state appearing lower in the order.

Try this new feature now, at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/statecomp/

Posted by ronbo at 12:58 PM

October 18, 2006

From NCES Newsflash: Full Version of the Digest of Education Statistics, 2005

The 2005 edition of the Digest of Education Statistics is the 41st in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The Digest has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977–78, 1983–84, and 1985–86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest includes a selection of data from many sources, both government and private, and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). To qualify for inclusion in the Digest, material must be nationwide in scope and of current interest and value. The publication contains information on a variety of subjects in the field of education statistics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates, in addition to educational attainment, finances, federal funds for education, libraries, and international comparisons. Supplemental information on population trends, attitudes on education, education characteristics of the labor force, government finances, and economic trends provides background for evaluating education data. Although the Digest contains important information on federal education funding, more detailed information on federal activities is available from federal education program offices.

Posted by ronbo at 09:22 PM

October 17, 2006

From NCES Newsflash: ECLS-B Database Training Seminar - Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) Database for Research and Policy Discussion

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, will sponsor a 3-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) database. ECLS-B is designed to support research on a wide range of topics pertaining to young children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development across multiple contexts (e.g., home, nonparental care, and school entry). This seminar is open to advanced graduate students and faculty members from colleges and universities nationwide and to researchers, education practitioners, and policy analysts from federal, state, and local education and human services agencies and professional associations.

The ECLS-B training seminar will be conducted from January 10-12, 2007 in Washington, DC. Support for travel and lodging will be provided to accepted applicants. The application deadline for the seminar is November 27, 2006.

For more information, please visit the NCES website at: http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/confinfo.asp?confid=71

Posted by ronbo at 02:57 PM

Social Explorer - A New Resource for Census Data

Social Explorer (www.socialexplorer.com) provides easy access to historical census data for the United States through the use of interactive maps and reports. Today, we are excited to announce the preview release of Social Explorer and the addition of seventy years of census data from 1940 to 2000.

Developed at Queens College CUNY, Social Explorer allows users to visually analyze and understand the demography of any part of the United States with access to the following:

* Interactive thematic maps of historical census data

* Customized reports for any chosen area or areas (including aggregates)

* Complete coverage of the United States, down to neighborhoods and streets

* Simple navigation buttons and a find tool make it easy and efficient to study neighborhoods

What's New:

1. Seventy years of census data: 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 at the neighborhood (census tract), county, state and national levels, now easily accessible in the form of interactive data maps and reports. (click here <http://www.socialexplorer.com/pub/maps/home.aspx> )

2. An animated training guide with step by step instructions. (click here )

3. A Reports section, similar in operation to the Census Bureau's American Fact Finder, allows users to directly generate reports about areas of their choice. (click here )

4. A Find tool, allowing users to instantly locate cities, zip codes, addresses, counties, towns, townships and other census geographies on the map.

5. Full source disclosure for all reports - every variable in a report links directly to information about where the data originated and how it was computed, as well as

6. Detailed information for 1960, 1970 and 1980 censuses about which variables were not disclosed for privacy concerns.

Guided by feedback from our numerous beta testers, this release is focused on maximizing Social Explorer's ease of use and eliminating barriers to demographic research. To this end, we have done extensive data processing and entry to make Social Explorer possible. For example, it took over 5 trillion CPU operations just to recode suppressions in 1970 to enable aggregations of the variables. These sort of Herculean data operations, an unavoidable part of Census research, are already done by Social Explorer, allowing users to focus on the results they seek.

Social Explorer is continually improving; we are currently working on adding data back to 1790 for counties and back to 1910 for census tracts. A set of data that will make it possible to follow change in the same area using comparable variables will soon be added. Data from the 2005 American Community Survey, a Census Bureau survey that will ultimately replace the Census Long Form, will be available in the next several weeks. We are also working on improving our reporting system, generating more tools for data mining, and creating sets of data that are comparable across time. In addition, we plan to develop estimates and projections of Census data at the small area level.

The developers are grateful to the National Science Foundation, which funded the development of Social Explorer, as well as the NHGIS team at the University of Minnesota (www.nhgis.org). Social Explorer is used by The New York Times, for their newsroom, and the Times funded early data development and analyses of the Census data for stories in the newspaper.

Contact: Ahmed Lacevic at alacevic@socialexplorer.com, Andrew Beveridge at abeveridge@socialxplorer.com, or Jordan Segall at jsegall@socialexplorer.com.

A few comments about Social Explorer's beta release:

World Changing: "...they've done a fantastically thorough job. You can zoom all the way from the national level to ... the street you live on, and see all sorts of different data, from income to industry to gender to ethnicity to means of commuting to family structure. Want a map showing percent of foreign-born nationals who immigrated in the last five years? It's there. Want a map showing percentage of self-employed males? It's there. Percentage of housing where rent is between $600 - $800 per month or where heat is provided by solar power? It's there."

O'Reilly Radar: "Social Explorer gives a map interface to the 2000 census data. It's beautiful and really interesting. . . When you chart the changing density of blacks and whites in NYC, you get a feel for the sudden post-war boom in projects in Queens and Kings."

Posted by ronbo at 12:30 PM

October 16, 2006

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - October 16, 2006

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

NEW ADDITIONS:

13668 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Master File, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13668.xml

13669 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Demographic File, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13669.xml

13679 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Child Behavior Checklist, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13679.xml

13716 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Home and Life Interview, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13716.xml

13730 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Physical Development Scale, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13730.xml

13738 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Routine Activities, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13738.xml

13742 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Self Report of Offending, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13742.xml

13743 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Substance Use, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13743.xml

13750 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Wide Range Achievement Test, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13750.xml

13751 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Young Adult Self Report, Wave 3, 2000-2002
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/13751.xml

UPDATES:

7421 Slave Sales and Appraisals, 1775-1865
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/07421.xml

7422 Slave Hires, 1775-1865
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/07422.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/.

Posted by ronbo at 06:39 PM

October 13, 2006

NCES Newsflash: NEW NCES REPORT! - Economic Impact of the Nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities

The purpose of this study was to document the economic role of the nation’ s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) by estimating the short-term economic impact that each of these institutions has on their local communities. In this study, short-term economic impact was defined as the change in overall economic activity in the institutions’s community that is associated with four important categories of college/university-related expenditures, salaries, other institutional expenditures, and the expenditures of undergraduate and separately, graduate and professional students attending the institution. The IMPLAN (Impact Analysis for Planning) Professional Version 2.0 modeling system was used to build regional models for each of the 101 HBCUs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and to calculate multipliers for estimating the HBCUs’ impact in terms of output, value-added, labor income, and employment. These multipliers were applied to each institution ’s salary, staff, enrollment and expenditure data from the 2001 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. In 2001, the combined initial spending associated with the nation’s 101 HBCUs totaled $6.6 billion. Public HBCUs accounted for 62 percent of the total amount. The total economic impact of the nation’s HBCUs was $10.2 billion with 35 percent due to the multiplier effect. This amount would rank the collective economic impact of the nation’s HBCUs 232nd on the Forbes Fortune 500 list of the United States’ largest companies (Fortune Magazine, 2006). Additionally, the total employment impact of the 101 HBCUs included 180,142 total (initial and induced) full- and part-time jobs in 2001. The report includes templates that can easily be used to update impact estimates for subsequent years as new IPEDS data become available.

To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007178

Posted by ronbo at 05:34 PM

October 12, 2006

From Eurobarometer list:: EB 64.3 released

Dear list members!

I am pleased to announce the following Eurobarometer release:

ZA4415 / ICPSR ___ EUROBAROMETER 64.3
November-December 2005

Carried out by TNS OPINION & SOCIAL and managed by EOS GALLUP
EUROPE (BRUSSELS), on request of the EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Directorate General Press and Communication, Public Opinion.

TOPICS:
- Learning, knowledge and use of foreign languages
- Biotechnology and genetic engineering
- Organized crime and corruption
- Health consciousness: breastfeeding, diet, physical activity,
overweight children, state of health (EMBARGO)
- Smoking habits and passive smoking (*)
- AIDS prevention (*)
- Medical errors (*)
- Consumer rights (EMBARGO)

(*) These moduls were only surveyed in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey,
Croatia, and Northern Cyprus (TCC).
In the 25 EU member countries identical questions were asked in the
framework of Eurobarometer 64.1 which
will be released by the archive at latest in November.

If you would like to order the data, please contact YOUR data archive:

http://www.gesis.org/en/data_service/eurobarometer/staff/archives.htm

For more information on Eurobarometer 64.3 please see the corresponding
study profile at:

http://www.gesis.org/en/data_service/eurobarometer/standard_eb_profiles/indexframe_profiles.htm


With best regards
Meinhard Moschner

--
GESIS/ZA
Central Archive for Empirical Social Research
Meinhard Moschner moschner@za.uni-koeln.de
Tel. ++49 +221 47694 21
Fax. ++49 +221 47694 44
For more information on EUROBAROMETER please see:
http://www.gesis.org/eurobarometer

Posted by ronbo at 12:11 PM

NCES Newsflash: NEW NCES REPORT! - Economic Outcomes of High School Completers and Noncompleters 8 Years Later

This report uses data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) to compare the economic outcomes of high school completers at three different points in time with the outcomes of individuals who did not complete high school. Differences by sex and the type of credential earned are also examined. The findings suggest that individuals who completed high school within 6 years generally had more favorable economic outcomes than their counterparts who completed high school later or not at all. However, differences in economic outcomes were most prominent between males and females even after controlling for the timing and type of high school credential earned.

To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007019

Posted by ronbo at 12:09 PM

October 10, 2006

From Census Update: Hot Tip - Residential Finance Survey Focuses on Properties, Not Housing Units

The Census Bureau has conducted the Residential Finance Survey (RFS) every 10 years since 1951 and yet many analysts are unaware of it. For a sample of properties (68,000 addresses in 2001), the Census Bureau collects data on housing financial arrangements from three sources - homeowners, owners of rental properties, and lenders. In 2001, for example, there were 83.5 million properties. Almost 50.6 million were mortgaged. Almost 37.6 million had a fixed-rate, level payment mortgage; 2.3 million had a short-term mortgage with a balloon payment; 11,000 had a reverse mortgage; and 6.5 million had an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM).

The RFS has data on owner characteristics, property characteristics, and financing characteristics. The last includes interest rate, type of mortgage, term of mortgage, holder of mortgage, caps on interest rate over life of the ARM, monthly payment, items included in first mortgage, etc. The results of the RFS are available online in a PDF report or in microdata files available for download. On the Census Bureau homepage, click on "Housing" and then on "Residential Finance Survey."

Posted by ronbo at 01:09 PM

NCES Newsflash: New on the NAEP Website: National Indian Education Study, Part II

This report, National Indian Education Study, Part II: The Educational Experiences of Fourth- and Eighth-Grade American Indian and Alaska Native Students (NCES 2007-454), presents results from a national survey conducted in 2005 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) with support from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian Education (OIE).

Part I of the NIES, released in May 2006, describes the performance of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2005 mathematics and reading and assessments. Performance results from Part I are not linked to the survey findings from Part II, but such links will be possible in the NIES data collection scheduled for 2007.

Part II describes the educational experiences of AI/AN students in grades 4 and 8, with particular emphasis on the native language and culture. Findings are presented in four broad areas: characteristics of the American Indian/Alaska Native students, their schools, their teachers, and their curriculum. Among the many findings are these:

* Fifty percent of AI/AN students at grade 4 and 45 percent in grade 8 attended schools with 25 percent or more AI/AN enrollment.
* More than 60 percent of AI/AN students at each grade level qualified for free or reduced-price school lunch under the National School Lunch Program.
* About one-quarter of the AI/AN students at each grade level reported attending tribal or village ceremonies and gatherings several times a year. About one-quarter also reported that members of their family spoke to each other in their traditional tribal or village languages about one-half the time or more often.
* Twenty-eight percent of grade 4 AI/AN students had teachers who spoke and understood, at least to some extent, tribal or village languages spoken by AI/AN students in their schools. At grade 8, the corresponding percentages were 25 percent for mathematics teachers and 23 percent for reading teachers.

Find the Executive Summary for Part II: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/studies/2007454.asp

Download the full NIES Part II report: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007454

Read about the NIES on the NAEP website: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies/

Posted by ronbo at 11:54 AM

October 09, 2006

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - October 09, 2006

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

NEW ADDITIONS:

4495 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, June 1978
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/04495.xml

4496 New York Times National Health Care Poll, March 1982
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/04496.xml

UPDATES:

3799 Natality Detail File, 2000: [United States]
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/03799.xml

4314 Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, Wave IV, 2000-2001 [Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas]
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/04314.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/.

Posted by ronbo at 12:59 PM

October 06, 2006

From Census Update: Hot Tip - Exactly Which Geographic Areas Are Identified in the 2005 American Community Survey Tabulations?

The 2005 American Community Survey publishes a wealth of data for areas of 65,000 or more people. On October 3, we published the latest installment of data from this survey. This release gives you access to data on the number of housing units (occupied and vacant), total population in housing units by owner/renter status, heating fuel, owner costs, plumbing and kitchen facilities, bedrooms, vehicles available, and telephone, as well as additional place-of-work data.

Wondering which geographic areas make the cut? That is, which have 65,000 or more people and therefore are published in the survey results? Our online ACS Users Guide includes a spreadsheet listing all the areas in each state that are identified in ACS tabulations. In addition, you can view a map showing counties with over and under 65,000 people and a series of state maps showing counties and cities that meet the threshold.

If you want to see all the areas of a particular kind (e.g., places or school districts), come to the ACS Users Guide, and go to the tool in the left-hand top corner labeled "Geographic Areas in 2005." Then select "United States." The resulting page lets you download a spreadsheet showing all areas covered or select a kind of area and see all such areas in the US.

To find the users guide, check on the "American Community Survey" on the Census Bureau home page and then on "Guide to the ACS data products" under the "Using the Data" tab.

Posted by ronbo at 05:22 PM

From IPUMS users list: IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Samples) Winter Workshop

Dear IPUMS Users,

I am pleased to announce the IPUMS Winter Workshop, to be held in Minneapolis on January 10th-12th, 2007. This training session will cover four major databases: IPUMS-USA, IPUMS-International, IPUMS-CPS, and the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS).

For more information, please visit
http://www.pop.umn.edu/training/winter.shtml.

I hope to see some of you in Minneapolis this winter.

Sincerely,

Steven Ruggles
Principal Investigator
IPUMS Projects

Posted by ronbo at 05:14 PM

October 04, 2006

NEW NCES REPORT! - United States High School Sophomores: A Twenty-Two Year Comparison, 1980-2002 (NCES 2006-327)

Using questionnaire and test data collected in 1980, 1992, and 2002, this report presents time series data on three cohorts of high school sophomores. The report presents information on the changing context of cohort demographics, family characteristics, school characteristics, and school experiences, after school activities, and future plans and expectations. Tested achievement is also presented with results in math from 1980 to 1990 and 2002, and results in reading from 1990 to 2002.

Several findings were:

* Between 1980 and 2002, the percentage of students who identified English as their native language declined from 95 percent to 86 percent.
* The percentage of sophomores living with a biological or adoptive mother and father declined from 70 percent in 1980 to 57 percent in 2002.
* Between 1980 and 2002 the percentage of Black Sophomores in the middle two quartiles of the SES distribution increased from 44 percent in 1980 to 52 percent in 2002 and the percentage in the lowest quarter declined from 46 percent to 35 percent.
* The percentage of high school sophomores who reported that they were in a college preparatory or academic program increased from 33 percent to 51 percent between 1980 and 2002.
* Overall, ELS:2002 sophomores scored about 0.40 of a standard deviation higher than sophomores in 1980 on the mathematics assessment.
* Between 1980 and 2002, the proportion of sophomores who reported participation in academic clubs, vocational clubs, music-related activities, and hobby clubs dropped between 6 and 18 percentage points.
* The percentage of sophomores expecting a 4-year college or postgraduate degree increased from 41 percent in 1980 to 80 percent in 2002.

To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006327

Posted by ronbo at 05:43 PM

Roper Center Newsletter, October 2006

Tip of the month!!

Acquisitions Alert!!

The Roper Center has just acquired more than 300 public opinion surveys collected by the US government in various countries around the globe between 1993 and 2001. This adds to the 500+ USIA surveys already archived at the Center dating back to 1952. The data are currently being processed and will be ready to access shortly.

Public Opinion Matters!--"Congressional Elections"
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/roperweb/pom/pom.htx;start=HS_special_topics?Topic=congress1

How will Americans vote this election year? What are the motivating factors bringing people to the voting booths? Are citizens more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate or for a Republican candidate? Find out how others feel about this years election and more in this month's POM--Congressional Elections.

Based on a new topic each month, POM offers a generous free sampling of related polling data and details of survey datasets held by the Roper Center, along with articles previously published in Public Perspective magazine.

Experience the depth of information housed in the Roper Center archives - The complete list of "Public Opinion Matters!" topics. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/Roperweb/pom/pom.htx;start=HS_pom_list

Newly spotlighted datasets http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/roperweb/Catalog40/Catalog40.htx;start=HS_surveyspot
Updated as of October 1, 2006

Special studies of interest recently added to iPOLL. The database now contains nearly a half million questions!
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/ipoll.html

Title: Attitudes Toward The Public Schools Survey [June, 2006]
Source: Survey by Phi Delta Kappa.
Methodology: Conducted by Gallup Organization, June 11-July 5, 2006 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult sample of 1,007.
Search for: Topic: 'education'; Date: '06/11/2006 to 06/11/2006'

Title: NCSC Sentencing Attitudes Survey [March,2006]
Source: Survey by National Center for State Courts.
Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, March 6-April 9, 2006 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult sample of 1,502. Funding was provided by the Justice, Equality, Human Dignity and Tolerance Foundation.
Search for: Topic: 'crime'; Date: '03/06/2006 to 03/06/2006'

Title: CASA 2006 Attitudes on Substance Abuse Survey [March, 2006]
Source:
Methodology: Conducted by National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, March 9-April 30, 2006 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult parents of teenagers (age 12-17) with oversamples of african americans and hispanics sample of 562. Interviews were conducted by QEV Analytics. A parallel survey of 1297 teens age 12-17 was conducted. All of the 562 interviews with parents were conducted in households where the parents gave consent for their teen to be interviewed even though the teen interview may not have been completed. Results were weighted to be representative of a national adult parent of teens age 12-17 sample.
Search for: Topic: 'narcotics'; Date: '03/09/2006 to 03/09/2006'

Title: Taking America 's Pulse III - Intergroup Relations Survey [January,2005]
Source: Survey by National Conference for Community and Justice.
Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, January 13-March 30, 2005 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult including oversamples of african americans, hispanics, and asians sample of 2,558. Tom Smith from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago was a consultant for the survey. Results were weighted to be representative of a national adult population.
Search for: Topic: 'equality'; Organization: 'Princeton Survey Research Associates'; Date: '01/13/2005 to 01/13/2005'

Title: Transatlantic Trends 2006 Survey [June,2006]
Source: Survey by German Marshall Fund of the US and the Compagnia di San Paolo, Italy, with additional support from the Luso-American Foundation, Portugal, Fundacion BBVA, Spain, and the Tipping Point Fdtn., Bulgaria.
Methodology: Conducted by TNS Opinion and Social Institutes, June 6-June 24, 2006 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult sample of 1,000. Interviews were conducted in the US by Leger Marketing of Montreal. Parallel surveys were conducted in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. All fieldwork was coordinated by TNS Opinion and Social Institute.
Search for: Topic: 'diplomacy'; Date: '06/06/2006 to 06/06/2006'

Additional resources - Web sites with special survey samples

Princeton Survey Research Associates International for the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation National Surveys of Pharmacists and Physicians on Medicare Part D
http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr090706pkg.cfm

Transatlantic Trends 2006 Annnual public opinion survey examining American and European attitudes toward the transatlantic relationship. TNS Opinion conducted the survey for the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paolo, with additional support provided by Fundação Luso-Americana, Fundación BBVA, and the Tipping Point Foundation.
http://www.transatlantictrends.org/

Young Voter Battleground Survey - The George Washington University 's Young Voter Strategies (YVS) in collaboration with GW-Battleground pollsters Ed Goeas of The Tarrance Group and Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners survey of 18-30 year olds.
http://www.youngvoterstrategies.org/index.php?tg=articles&topics=44&mylocation=Tools

Greenberg Quinlin Rosner Research Tracking Rural Voters Survey for the Center for Rural Strategies
http://www.greenbergresearch.com/index.php?ID=1790

Posted by ronbo at 05:06 PM

October 02, 2006

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 U.S. datafile and User's Guide

This datafile contains the U.S. TIMSS 2003 data, including data that was collected only in the United States and not included on the international database available from the IEA, and a Data User's Guide. The additional data relate to the race and ethnicity of students and teachers, and the percentage of students in a school eligible for the Federal free and reduced lunch program. This datafile is intended to be used in conjunction with the international datafile available from the IEA.

Posted by ronbo at 04:14 PM