Social Science Data and Software (SSDS) Blog: March 2008 Archives

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March 29, 2008

Next Stanford GIS Special Interest Group - Meeting Thurs 4/3/08 - 12 noon

The next GISSIG meeting will be held on:

Thursday April 3, 12 noon
Stanford Humanities Center, Baker Room
Lunch will be provided - please RSVP.

Claudia Engel, Academic Technology Specialist and Lecturer - Department of Anthropology

"Open Source GIS for Anthropological Research"
Open source software tools for GIS and spatial analysis are increasingly being adopted by the research community. This presentation will provide an overview of such tools currently available and provide examples from anthropological research.

Matt Jockers, Academic Technology Specialist and Consulting Assistant Professor - Department of English

"Mapping Literature with Google Earth"
In literary studies researchers typically focus on the "close-reading" of individual texts. By linking texts to geographic information, however, we open up a whole new realm of analysis, a macroanalytic realm where "close" is replaced by "distant." In his talk Matt explores how he utilized Google Earth to debunk several critical misconceptions about the evolution and history of Irish-American literature.

Upcoming GISSIG Events for Spring Quarter 2008:
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* April 24, 3pm - Invited Lecture at the Woods Institute for the Environment by Prof. David Carr, Department of Geography, UC Santa Barbara
* May 8, 12 noon - Lunchtime meeting at the Stanford Humanities Center: Improving GIS Services at Stanford

The GIS Special Interest Group @ Stanford (http://gissig.stanford.edu) is formed around a common interest in GIS, particularly in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Our mission is to facilitate a multidisciplinary network of faculty and students who apply or will be applying GIS, spatial technologies and methods.

To receive future GISSIG announcements please subscribe to https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/stanfordgis

Posted by ronbo at 05:07 PM

March 28, 2008

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - ICPSR recent updates and additions

New Releases through 2008-03-27

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

2166 ABC News VP Debate Poll and Follow-Up, October 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02166.xml

4346 Current Population Survey, May 2004: Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04346.xml

4347 Current Population Survey, 2004: Cell Phone Supplement
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04347.xml

4376 Current Population Survey, March/April 1986: Match File: Alimony and Child Support
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04376.xml

4377 Current Population Survey, March/April 1988 Match Files: Alimony and Child Support
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04377.xml

4378 Current Population Survey, March/April 1990 Match Files: Alimony and Child Support
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04378.xml

4380 Current Population Survey, March/April 1992 Match Files: Alimony and Child Support
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04380.xml

4476 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, January 1992
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04476.xml

4477 CBS News Monthly Poll, March 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04477.xml

4579 Exploring Women's Histories of Survival of Violence and Victimization in a Midwestern State, 2004-2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04579.xml

4608 Current Population Survey, March/April 2004 Match Files: Child Support Supplement
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04608.xml

4622 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #2, August 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04622.xml

4654 ABC News/Washington Post Monthly Poll #1, January 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04654.xml

20960 2002 State Legislative Survey
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20960.xml

21523 Eurobarometer 66.3: Social Reality, E-Communications, Common Agricultural Policy, Discrimination and the Media, and Medical Research, November-December 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21523.xml

21680 Multistate Analysis of Time Consumption in Capital Appeals, 1992-2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21680.xml

21983 Census of Population and Housing, 1990 [United States]: Documentation for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21983.xml

Updates

2169 Washington Post Federal Election Commission Poll, January 1997
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02169.xml

2170 Washington Post Prince William County [Virginia] Poll, January 1997
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02170.xml

2176 ABC News "Nightline" Jackie Robinson Poll, February 1997
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02176.xml

2956 Immigrants Admitted to the United States, 1998
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02956.xml

3882 Annual Survey of Jails: Jurisdiction-Level Data, 2000
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03882.xml

3937 Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2002: Diary Survey
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03937.xml

4236 Afrobarometer: Round II Survey of South Africa, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04236.xml

4635 Annual Survey of Jails: Jurisdiction-Level Data, 2003
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04635.xml

7685 Retirement History Longitudinal Survey, 1973
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07685.xml

7699 Current Population Survey: Voter Supplement File, 1976
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07699.xml

7706 Juvenile Detention and Correctional Facility Census, 1974
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07706.xml

7758 Juvenile Detention and Correctional Facility Census, 1977
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07758.xml

7784 Current Population Survey: Annual Demographic File, 1977
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07784.xml

21820 Census of Population and Housing, 2000 [United States]: Documentation for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21820.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/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

Posted by ronbo at 09:23 AM

March 27, 2008

From Census Bureau: Publication of Final Criteria for Census Tracts and Block

The Census Bureau published final criteria for both census tracts and block groups in the Friday, March 14, 2008 Federal Register. The notices, "Census Tract Program for the 2010 Decennial Census--Final Criteria" and "Census Block Group Program for the 2010 Decennial Census--Final Criteria," are available on the Federal Register's website at the following links:

Census Tract Final Criteria:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-5076.pdf

Block Group Final Criteria:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-5075.pdf

Both notices also will be available via the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program page at:
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/psap2010/psap2010_main.html

The block group notice announces the Census Bureau's decision that the minimum population threshold for block groups will continue to be 600 persons.

Questions and requests for further information should be addressed to the Geographic Standards and Criteria Branch, Geography Division, Census Bureau via e-mail at or telephone at 301-763-3056.

April Avnayim
Geographer
Geographic Standards and Criteria Branch
Geography Division
U.S. Census Bureau

(V) 301-763-9100
(F) 301-763-4710

Posted by ronbo at 08:48 PM

From MEPS list: Save the Date for MEPS Data User Workshop

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

AHRQ will be conducting a two-day hands-on MEPS Data User Workshop in Rockville, MD on: May 14-15, 2008

Day 1 of this workshop will consist of lectures designed to provide a general overview of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) including information about the survey design, file content, and the construction of analytic files. Particular emphasis will be on health care utilization, expenditures, and medical conditions.

On day 2 participants will apply the knowledge gained from the previous day's lecture to formulate a research plan that utilizes the various MEPS-HC files and linkage capabilities. A PC will be available for each participant.

After attending this workshop, each participant will gain enough knowledge to construct an analytic file and begin to conduct analyses. All attendees should have basic SAS programming skills. Programmers and AHRQ staff will be available to provide assistance.

Coming Soon: Full program Description, Registration Form and Logistical Information
Please check http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/about_meps/workshops_events.jsp

For any other questions, email workshopinfo@ahrq.hhs.gov

Posted by ronbo at 08:45 PM

From ANES list: Problems Discovered with Measures of Knowledge About Politics

American National Election Studies surveys have routinely included open-ended questions, tapping respondents' factual knowledge about politics, people's beliefs about the country's most important problems, and questions about what people like about political candidates and parties. We recently investigated how answers to these questions have been recorded and coded in the past and discovered an array of problems. We have written a report to describe what we discovered, offer advice to researchers about how to use these questions, and describe how we are using the results of our investigation to improve data collection and distribution practices at ANES and other studies. To access a copy of the report, please visit the ANES website and the following link.
http://www.electionstudies.org/announce/newsltr/20080324PoliticalKnowledgeMemo.pdf

If you have any comments or questions, please email us at anes@electionstudies.org

Sincerely,

Jon A. Krosnick and Arthur Lupia
ANES Principal Investigators

Matthew DeBell
Director of Stanford Operations for the ANES

Darrell Donakowski
ANES Director of Studies

Posted by ronbo at 08:12 PM

From IES Newsflash: State Education Reforms (SER) Website: Recent Updates

NCES has just expanded the State Education Reforms (SER) website. This website was based on the report Overview and Inventory of State Education Reforms: 1990 to 2000, and is updated periodically to incorporate new data on state education reform activities.

The SER website, which draws primarily on data collected by organizations other than NCES, compiles and disseminates data on state-level education reform efforts in four areas: (1) standards, assessment, and accountability, (2) school finance reforms, (3) resources for learning, and (4) state support for school choice options. Specific reform areas include student and teacher assessments, adequate yearly progress, statewide exit exams, highly qualified teachers, open enrollments laws, and charter schools.

In the Standards, Assessment, and Accountability area of the website, one table was updated. One table was updated in the Resources for Learning area of the website, and one table was added to the State Support for School Choice Options area. To locate these tables on the State Education Reforms website, please look for the "New!" and "Updated!" tags next to the table titles.

To view the site, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/

Posted by ronbo at 08:07 PM

Stata 10 manual errata

Errata are available for the following manuals:

Base Reference Manual, Volume 1
Base Reference Manual, Volume 2
Base Reference Manual, Volume 3
Data Management Reference Manual
Longitudinal/Panel Data Reference Manual
Mata Reference Manual
Multivariate Statistics Reference Manual
Programming Reference Manual
Survival Analysis and Epidemoiological Tables Reference Manual

For detailed contents, go to Stata 10 manual errata page at Stata.com

Posted by yan at 01:42 PM

SPSS Proactive Notification - Hotfix available for the automated file save issue in SPSS 16.0.x

This proactive notification is a follow-up to a previous notification (Potential Issue with automated file save in SPSS 16.0.x, dated March 14, 2008) relating to existing data files that appear to save but are missing from the system. A hotfix has been made available for SPSS for Windows to prevent this problem from occurring.

This problem will also be addressed in the upcoming 16.0.2 patch for ALL platforms (Windows, Macintosh, and Linux) which is slated for mid-April, 2008. It is strongly advised that all SPSS for Windows users download the hotfix. Macintosh and Linux users should continue to explicitly save files via File->Save or the save toolbar button prior to exiting the application.

To download the Windows hotfix, please go to http://support.spss.com, click on "16.0.1 patches ", and select the appropriate platform/license type.

If you are a Stanford affiliate and have any questions or problems, please contact SSDS software services (consult-stat@stanford.edu).

Posted by yan at 01:23 PM

March 26, 2008

From IES Newsflash: StatChat on 2007 NAEP Writing Assessment Results

At 2 p.m. on April 3, join National Center for Education Statistics Associate Commissioner Peggy G. Carr for an online StatChat about the 2007 writing assessment results. You can submit questions for the chat anytime in advance at http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/statchat and come back later to participate in the session.

The writing results will be available on April 3 at 10 a.m. At that time, you can view the results and watch a webcast of the release event online at
http://nationsreportcard.gov

For more information on the writing assessment, visit
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/writing/

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 12:24 AM

March 25, 2008

From IES Newsflash: Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) Database for Research and Policy Discussion

Wednesday, June 4, through Friday, June 6, 2008, Washington, DC

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences, is sponsoring a three-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) database. The ECLS-K allows researchers to examine the relationships among a wide range of child, family, teacher, classroom, and school variables and children's development and performance in elementary and middle school.

Complete applications must be submitted by April 14, 2008.

For more details on this seminar and to register, please visit:
http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=312

Explore the ECLS website at
http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/

Posted by ronbo at 11:14 AM

From IES Newsflash: New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has released the report "Digest of Education Statistics, 2007 (NCES 2008-022)"

The 43rd in a series of publications initiated in 1962, the Digest's primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest contains data on a variety of topics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates, in addition to educational attainment, finances, and federal funds for education, libraries, and international comparisons.

To browse this report, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/

To view, download and print the report as a pdf file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008022

Posted by ronbo at 11:11 AM

March 21, 2008

SPSS 16.0 - How do I view and edit output created in previous versions of SPSS for Windows?

The SPSS 16.0 for Windows CD (full version only) contains an application called "Legacy Viewer" which is formerly known as "SPSS 15.0 SmartViewer". If you wish to view and edit output created in previous versions of SPSS, please install the Legacy Viewer and open the older output using that application. Legacy Viewer is also available for download from the SPSS Support website:

The web site can be found at http://support.spss.com/. You will need a Technical Support login and password. To get a Technical Support login and password, choose the "Login Options" from the menu, and then choose the "Request a Login" link. Once you are logged-in, choose "SPSS" under "My Product View". Next, select "Utilities", then "SPSS for Windows", and finally "Legacy Viewer".

For users of the SPSS Graduate Pack, Career Starter, and Faculty Pack products, you can download the Legacy Viewer from the following location:

http://support.spss.com/newSupport/Student/Utilities/SPSS/index.html

There is no Legacy Viewer for old output (.spo) files for SPSS 16.0 for Macintosh. There are no plans for one to be created. We must ask that you regenerate your old output in the upgraded version. If you feel strongly about having this for SPSS for Macintosh, please contact product marketing at suggest@spss.com. We apologize for the inconvenience.

SPSS Tech Support

Posted by yan at 06:08 PM

Compatibility of SPSS files (.sav, .sps, .spv, .spo) between different versions

The SPSS dataset (.sav) file is backward and forward compatible, so you should be able to share your dataset between versions. One thing to note, SPSS 12 and later allow more than 8 characters for your variable name (old versions can only have a max of 8). This feature is not backward compatible, so if sharing with SPSS 11 and older, one should ensure that the variable names don't exceed 8 characters in SPSS 12 and later files so that earlier version can open and work on the dataset as well - if not, the variable names will be truncated.

The SPSS output files (.spo or .spv with charts, tables, etc) are generally not backward compatible, so outputs created in a later version of SPSS can't be opened in earlier versions. Beginning with SPSS 16, output files are written in the .spv format. Therefore, it is not possible to read older .spo files directly into SPSS 16. The SPSS 16 for Windows CD-Rom includes a Legacy Viewer (SPSS 15.0 Smartviewer) which should be installed on machines where .spo files may need to be read. These files should be opened in the Legacy Viewer.

The SPSS syntax files (.sps): please be aware that some syntax commands have been updated or removed in later versions, so you may find some commands not working in earlier or later versions of SPSS.

Posted by yan at 06:04 PM

SPSS 16 installation error: Please run this utility from your product's installation folder. (echoid.dat).

The following error has been reported by a number of users when running the license authorization wizard after installing SPSS 16 on Windows Vista:

"Please run this utility from your product's installation folder. (echoid.dat)."

Solution:

1. Download 74746.zip from the following location and choose to save it to your Desktop.

ftp://ftp.spss.com/pub/spss/windows/74746.zip

2. Double-click 74746.zip and save echoid.dat into your installation directory. See the default installation directory for your product below.

Note: Windows Vista users should save echoid.dat to a writeable location, e.g. Desktop, and then copy or move the file from that location to the installation directory.

SPSS Career Starter - C:\Program Files\SPSSInc\SPSS CS
SPSS Faculty Pack - C:\Program Files\SPSSInc\SPSS Faculty Pack
SPSS Graduate Pack - C:\Program Files\SPSSInc\SPSS GP
SPSS Student Version - C:\Program Files\SPSSInc\SPSS Student
SPSS for Windows - C:\Program Files\SPSSInc\SPSS

3. Run License Authorization Wizard.

Posted by yan at 04:10 PM

From IES Newsflash: Applications Being Accepted for PEELS and NLTS2 Database Training Seminars

Two three-day seminars on the use of longitudinal datasets for education research and policy analysis will be held June 24-26, 2008 in Washington D.C. The seminars will focus on the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS) database and the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2) database. PEELS and NLTS2 study children and youth with disabilities and are administered by the National Center for Special Education Research within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Both seminars are 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 application deadline is April 30.

PEELS

The PEELS includes a sample of over 3,000 children with disabilities and is designed to describe the characteristics of children receiving preschool special education, their educational programs and services, and their transitions from preschool programs to elementary schools. For more information about PEELS, see http://www.peels.org/

For more information about the PEELS database training seminar, see
http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=334

NLTS2

The NLTS2 includes a sample of more than 11,000 students with disabilities and is designed to support research on a wide range of topics pertaining to youth with disabilities as they move from secondary school into adult roles. For more information about NLTS2, see http://www.nlts2.org

For more information about the NLTS2 database training seminar, see
http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=335

Posted by ronbo at 02:56 PM

From IES Newsflash: The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007 To Be Released

Results from the NAEP writing assessment are scheduled to be released on April 3, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. "The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007" will provide a snapshot of the writing abilities of the nation's eighth- and 12th-graders. The 2007 results will be compared with earlier assessments in 2002 and 1998. Results will also be available for eighth-graders in 45 participating states, the Department of Defense schools, and 10 large urban districts.

For more information on the assessment, visit
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/writing/

At the time of the release view the results and watch a webcast of the release event online at
http://nationsreportcard.gov. Join National Center for Education Statistics Associate Commissioner Peggy G. Carr for an online chat about the results at 2 p.m. on the day of the release. You can submit questions for the chat in advance at
http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/statchat and come back later to participate in the session.

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 09:40 AM

March 20, 2008

Advanced Spatial Analysis Workshops Call for Applications - deadline 31 March

Dear Colleague,

The Population Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University and the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS) at UCSB invite applications from Ph.D. students, post docs, and young faculty in demography and related fields to participate in

NIH-Supported Workshops in Advanced Spatial Analysis

This new program features two 5-day-long workshops in summer 2008 that are intended for scholars who already make use of GIS and spatial statistics in their research.

Geographically Weighted Regression
June 1-June 6, 2008, University Park, PA
Instructors: Stewart Fotheringham, Chris Brunsdon, Martin Charlton, and Stephen Matthews

Spatial Pattern Analysis
July 13-July 18, 2008, Santa Barbara, CA
Instructors: Arthur Getis, John Weeks, Jared Aldstadt, Michael Goodchild, and Don Janelle

Full details on the workshops and the online application form are available at http://www.csiss.org/GISPopSci/workshops/

We will review and select approximately 20-25 invitees per workshop based on the complete application forms received by the deadline (March 31, 2008). Subject to the availability of funds, scholarship support will be available to some qualifying applicants that can help defray some of the costs for travel and lodging.

Please share this call for applications with interested colleagues via email, association newsletters, and related listserves. The attached flier may be circulated and posted to help spread the word about this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Stephen Matthews, Principal Investigator
Associate Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Demography (courtesy appointment, Geography)
Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University

Donald G. Janelle, Research Professor and Program Director
Center for Spatial Studies (spatial@ucsb), University of California, Santa Barbara

Michael F. Goodchild, Professor
Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara

Posted by ronbo at 06:07 PM

From Association of Public Data Users (APDU) list: Bureau of Economic Analysis to Release Measure of Travel and Tourism Output

Monday, March 17, 2008
Contact: Thomas Dail: (202)606-2649
Paul Kern: (202)606-9596

On Wednesday, March 19, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will release quarterly estimates of tourism spending for the 4th quarter 2007, along with annual estimates of tourism spending for 2007.

The estimates, part of BEA’s Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts (TTSAs), provide a broad picture of travel and tourism spending in the U.S. and include goods and services consumed in the U.S. by domestic travelers, as well as goods and services consumed by foreign travelers visiting the U.S.

The TTSAs, available at 8:30 a.m. on BEA’s website (www.bea.gov) and by email subscription, will also include detailed estimates of the direct tourism employment in the U.S., components of direct tourism spending (such as traveler accommodations, passenger air travel, meals and souvenirs), and total tourism output.

The TTSAs can be used for the following purposes:
o To determine the shares of the goods and services sold to visitors;
o To assess the effects of travel and tourism on the U.S. economy;
o To compare national trends to locally observed trends;
o To examine the relationship among the travel and tourism industries;
o To compare travel and tourism industries to other manufacturing and services industries.

Like quarterly estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), quarterly estimates of travel and tourism spending are seasonally adjusted at annual rates.

The TTSAs are supported by funding from the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. BEA has published these estimates since July 1998. The most recent release can be found at http://bea.gov/newsreleases/industry/tourism/tournewsrelease.htm.

Posted by ronbo at 06:03 PM

From IES Newsflash: New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has released the report "Trends in Undergraduate Borrowing II: Federal Student Loans in 1995-96, 1999-2000, and 2003-04 (NCES 2008-179)."

The report uses data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Studies (NPSAS:96, NPSAS:2000 and NPSAS:04) to examine trends in Stafford loan borrowing among undergraduates. Since 1995-96, borrowing of subsidized Stafford loans increased among low-income dependent undergraduates and among independent students at all income levels. The rate of borrowing any Stafford loan (subsidized or unsubsidized) increased among all but those in the lowest income category, for both dependent and independent undergraduates alike. While the average amount of subsidized loans has leveled off over time, unsubsidized loans have continued to grow both in the amount of the average loan as well as in the percentage of borrowers. Unlike subsidized loans, interest on an unsubsidized loan accrues and is usually added to the principal of the loan while the student is enrolled in school and not yet in repayment. This study found that between 1995-96 and 2003-04, an increasing proportion of both dependent and independent student borrowers at all income levels took out unsubsidized loans either alone or in addition to their subsidized loans. This was true particularly among independent students whose higher loan limits allow more of them to take out both types of loans. The Stafford loan program permits dependent students to take out both subsidized and unsubsidized loans, but the combined amount cannot exceed the maximum amount of a single loan. In 2003-04, about three-fourths (73 percent) of all dependent student borrowers took out the annual maximum amount allowed in subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans combined. This was an increase from 57 percent in 1995-96.

To view, download and print the report as a pdf file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008179

Posted by ronbo at 05:18 PM

SPSS Proactive Notification - SPSS 16.0.2 Patch Announcement

This is to announce that SPSS Inc. will release the SPSS 16.0.2 point release in mid-April, 2008. This scheduled point release is a free incremental update to SPSS 16.0 and is intended for users of SPSS 16.0.1. Updates included in the release are bug fixes and improvements to the performance and usability of SPSS 16.0 on all supported desktop and server platforms. It is recommended that all users of SPSS 16.0 update their installation to version 16.0.2. All patches, updates, hot fixes and point releases can be found at http://support.spss.com/ You will need your Support Web site User Id and Password to access this information. If you have forgotten your user id or password you can use the Find Password feature on our Web site. This can be found at: http://support.spss.com/password.html

If you have any questions or problems, please contact your local SPSS support team (http://support.spss.com/contactus.asp ). We are continually striving to improve our communication to our clients.

Thank you for using SPSS,
SPSS Technical Support

Posted by ronbo at 04:12 PM

Roper Center Data Acquisitions Update, February 2008

Stanford University Libraries maintains a membership to the Roper Center and Stanford faculty, staff, and students can now download data directly accessible via Roper Express. For instructions on requesting data not available via Roper Express, click on the "Data Services - Roper" link on our SSDS web site.

The month of February (pdf) update contains:

• 8 new USA Today Polls conducted by the Gallup Organization from November 2007 to January 2008 including samples from New Hampshire, Iowa and California.

• Public Agenda Foundation Surveys conducted from 1998-1999 including:

o On Thin Ice—Alternatives to Public Schools

o Playing Their Parts—Parental Involvement in Public Schools

o Reality Check 1998

• 3 new Newsweek Polls conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from October 2007-February 2008.

These notices have been archived on the Roper Center website at:
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/data/past_data_announcements.html

If you have any questions about these data collections please do not hesitate to contact the Roper Center at rcweb@ropercenter.uconn.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 03:30 PM

From IES Newsflash: New Quick Guides Introduce NAEP Tools

NAEP web tools are powerful and easy to use, and now they are even easier to use, thanks to new Quick Reference Guides that you can print; see
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/naeptools.asp#qrg

Read about all NAEP tools at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/naeptools.asp
If you have a particular interest in NAEP assessment questions, watch a quick introduction to the questions tool by clicking "See video preview" in the large Questions Tool button at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrls/
For details, click the large Questions Tool button to go to
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrls/startsearch.asp where you will see a button for the Tutorial.

If you want to customize how you look at NAEP data, learn how with the NAEP Data Explorer tutorial. Click the link "view the tutorial" on
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 03:28 PM

March 18, 2008

NIH-Supported Workshops in Advanced Spatial Analysis

NIH-Supported Workshops in Advanced Spatial Analysis

This new program features two 5-day-long workshops in summer 2008 that are intended for scholars who already make use of GIS and spatial statistics in their research.

Geographically Weighted Regression
The Population Research Institute
University Park, PA
June 1-June 6, 2008

Spatial Pattern Analysis
The Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science
Santa Barbara, CA
July 13-July 18, 2008

Full details on the workshops and the online application form are available at http://www.csiss.org/GISPopSci/workshops/.

We will review and select approximately 20-25 invitees per workshop based on the complete application forms received by the deadline (*March 31, 2008*). Subject to the availability of funds, scholarship support will be available to some qualifying applicants that can help defray some of the costs for travel and lodging.

Posted by yan at 12:40 PM

March 16, 2008

From Statalist: Stata Journal and Stata Technical Bulletin articles now available on line

Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:15:26 -0500
From: wgould@stata.com (William Gould, StataCorp LP)

Stata Journal articles now available on line

Not quite a month ago, there was the suggestion that Stata Journal articles be made electronically available, and that a moving wall be established before which the articles would be free.

On 14feb2008, I wrote, "I agree."

Today it's all been implemented and is on-line. Point your browser to http://www.stata-journal.com/archives.html

All Stata Journal articles -- over 300 -- are available. This includes reviewed articles and columns, such as Nick Cox's Speaking Stata and, er, my Mata Matters. Articles and columns more than 3 years old are available for free. More recent articles are priced at $7.50 each.

All articles are delivered in PDF form.

There's a search engine, too. You may search by keyword, author, or title.

STB available, too

The Stata Technical Bulletin (STB), the predecessor of the Stata Journal, is available, too. Prior issues are free. See http://www.stata.com/bookstore/stbj.html

Posted by ronbo at 03:12 AM

From IES Newsflash: Applications Being Accepted for NAEP Database Training Seminar July 30

A three-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the NAEP database for education research and policy analysis will begin July 30, 2008; application deadline is June 18. See http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=313&cid=2 for details. This seminar is aimed at faculty and advanced graduate students from colleges and universities. Education researchers and policy analysts with strong statistical skills from state and local education agencies and professional associations are also welcome.

The main NAEP database contains nationally representative achievement scores on fourth-, eighth-, and 12th-graders from public and non-public schools in a variety of academic subjects. The database also contains background information on the students who were assessed and their learning environment. To understand more about NAEP research, see
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/
Explore the data at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 02:17 AM

March 14, 2008

From SPSS Technical Support: SPSS Proactive Notification - Potential Issue with automated file save in SPSS 16.0.x

SPSS Technical Support has recently detected a problem in SPSS 16.0.x whereby modifications are made to an existing data file and the file appears to save, yet the file is missing from the system. This problem can occur if you exit the application without explicitly saving your file first. This problem has been observed when working with larger size data files or saving to a slower device (such as over the network) such that the saving process takes longer than 3 seconds. It is strongly advised that you do not save your files in this manner until the issue is addressed which is slated for the next maintenance release.

SPSS is evaluating the most appropriate solution but until it is available, always save your file explicitly via File->Save or the save toolbar button prior to exiting the application.

If you have any questions or problems, please contact your local SPSS support team (http://support.spss.com/contactus.asp ).

SPSS apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused.

Thank you,
SPSS Technical Support

Posted by ronbo at 03:25 PM

From MAPSS list: Sign Up For MAPSS - Get a Certificate!

Getting the MAPSS emails every week?

Still wondering what we do?

MAPSS is a great way to earn class credit, learn about useful methods that you can use in your own work, get a free lunch every Tuesday (Economists take note!) and even get certified!

Get a Certificate in Social Science Methodology!

When you go on the job market, would you like a certification to accompany your degree, confirming that you have special expertise in social science research methodology?

This is now possible, thanks to the new Certificate in Social Science Methodology program created by the Stanford MAPSS program.

The MAPSS graduate certificate will recognize and “credentialize” your advanced cross-disciplinary training in research methods, either quantitative or qualitative or both.

The certificate is easy to get: just sign up now by proposing a tentative set of courses to fulfill the requirements, enroll in the MAPSS colloquium series this spring (COMM 310/ POLISCI 402).

More info on the certificate program is below.

MAPSS is an interdisciplinary methodology program designed to expose researchers to diverse modes of data collection and analysis from across the social sciences. MAPSS offers a colloquium series, a workshop, a graduate certificate program, and various research resources. If you would like to learn more about the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), please check out our website at mapss.stanford.edu.

More on MAPSS

Each social science has its own traditional preferences, favoring some research methods and rarely using others, but these barriers are breaking down at an astonishing rate. Some of the most innovative social science is being done by people who take the time to learn about data collection and/or data analysis techniques developed and used by disciplines other than their own. The MAPSS Certificate program is designed to encourage Stanford graduate students to be innovators in this way.

Specifically, the certificate program seeks to:

Receipt of the Graduate Certificate would confirm that you have met our requirements and have acquired methodological expertise through coursework offered across university departments.

The program is administered by the faculty director of MAPSS. Participation in the program is open to any Stanford PhD student with an interest in social science research methodology.

To earn a MAPSS certificate, we invite you to:

For further information on the MAPSS Certificate in Social Science Research Methodology, please go to the MAPSS website (http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/cert/index.html).

We hope this offering will significantly enhance your Stanford graduate school experience.

Posted by ronbo at 12:09 AM

March 13, 2008

From IES Newsflash: New RFAs Represent Potential NAEP Research Funding

NAEP secondary analysts are encouraged to consider four new Institute of Education Sciences RFAs for 2009 research grant competitions; application deadlines are June 25 and October 2. See http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ for more details. NAEP data can provide excellent research opportunities for these IES competitions: Education Research program (84.305A), Special Education Research program (84.324A), Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (84.305D), and Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E).

The NAEP website contains information for researchers, including descriptions of tools for analyzing data at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/datatools2.asp
and available restricted-use data files at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/variablesrudata.asp

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 12:45 PM

March 12, 2008

From QSR: NVivo 8 is here! Find out what’s new

QSR International Announcements - NVivo 8 is here! Find out what’s new

The future of qualitative data analysis software has arrived with the landmark launch of NVivo 8. Work with audio or video files, even if you don’t have a transcript; create and export professional charts; or compare analysis completed by different users. Find out what’s new in NVivo 8.

NVivo 8 has an interface that’s similar to Office 2007 and for the first time the software allows you to:

Import, sort and analyze virtually any piece of information in any language, from videos, interview recordings and documents, to digital photos, media clips, podcasts and even music.
Work with transcripts or work without them, analyzing material straight from audio and video files. You can even create transcripts or text files within the software as you go.
View or listen to video and audio clips via inbuilt media players.
Merge separate projects and still identify which work was completed by which person, as well as view the notes and analysis completed by each team member.
Share files and findings, including audio, video or sections of documents with clients or colleagues who don’t have NVivo, using HTML web pages.
Query the analysis completed by individuals or teams and run comparisons to show the percentage of analysis that is the same or different across users.
Create and export professional charts, including three dimensional bar graphs and pie charts.
See colored bars called ‘coding stripes’ reflect research factors such as gender, age or income and watch them evolve in real time.
Watch new animated ‘show me’ tutorial movies and access the most up-to-date help and support resources online.

For the full list of new features in NVivo 8, download What’s new in NVivo 8 (pdf).

Posted by yan at 12:12 PM

Selections from SAS Tech Report: Countdown to Global Forum

SAS News

Basic Statistics Using SAS® Enterprise Guide®: A Primer»
This example-rich guide shows how to conduct a wide range of statistical analysis without any SAS programming required.

Power Talk with Richard Wright»
Frequent tech-tip contributor Wright enjoys sharing his knowledge of SAS.

Derive More Uses from the Round Function»
The round function can be used for more than rounding to the nearest decimal. See how to round to the nearest dollar value or round time.

Extract SYBASE-Stored Procedures Simply»
Check out this simple way to extracting SYBASE-stored procedures using PROC SQL.

Webcasts

Mining Text for Golden Service»
On-Demand Webcast

Quick Clicks

Technology Report Tips Archive

Posted by ronbo at 03:25 AM

March 11, 2008

From IASSIST Communiqué: Enhanced American FactFinder (AFF) Comments Requested

The U.S. Census Bureau is enhancing the current American FactFinder (AFF) to add features and improve its functionality.

As users of our data, we value your input and want the enhanced AFF to meet as many of your needs as possible so that you can easily access and use data available at the Census Bureau. Therefore, we would like your input about the new system.

We have identified a number of improvements which are described in the link below. Please review them and then provide up to five additional items you would like to see incorporated into the new system. (Note: The survey will be available for comments beginning today, March 10 - March 31, 2008.) Given the limited resources available for enhancing the AFF, the Census Bureau may not be able to implement all the suggestions.

https://questionweb.com/63144/

In an effort to reach as many users as possible, please forward this information to your colleagues and others who use data from the Census Bureau.

Thanks for your time and input as we work together to make the AFF a more efficient, dynamic, and interactive data access and dissemination system.

*******************************************
Nancy M. Gordon
Associate Director for Strategic
Planning and Innovation
U.S. Census Bureau
301-763-2126 (Office)
301-763-8150 (Fax)

Posted by ronbo at 12:00 PM

March 10, 2008

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2008-03-09

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

4367 Rape Prevention Through Bystander Education at a Northeastern State University, 2002-2004
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04367.xml

4571 National Evaluation of the LEAA Family Violence Demonstration Program in Five Sites in the United States, 1980-1981
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04571.xml

4616 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, May 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04616.xml

4617 CBS News Monthly Poll #2, May 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04617.xml

4618 CBS News/MTV Monthly Poll #3, May 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04618.xml

4621 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, August 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04621.xml

4682 JABISS: The Japanese Election Study, 1976
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04682.xml

20362 Evaluation of the Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1998-2001
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20362.xml

21080 United States House of Representatives Committee Assignment Request Data, 80th-103rd Congress
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21080.xml

21821 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2004
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21821.xml

21822 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2003
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21822.xml

21861 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21861.xml

22000 Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006: Diary Survey
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22000.xml

22001 Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006: Interview Survey and Detailed Expenditure Files
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22001.xml

Updates

2177 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, March 1997
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02177.xml

2756 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), 1994: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02756.xml

2834 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), 1997: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02834.xml

3839 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, March 1995
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03839.xml

6816 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, March 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06816.xml

9062 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, March 1988
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09062.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/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

Posted by ronbo at 06:15 PM

SPSS 16.0.1 Patch for Windows

SPSS Technical Support Homepage

Description:

This patch will upgrade your existing SPSS 16.0 for Windows (English only) to version 16.0.1. SPSS 16.0.1 is an incremental release in which the following changes were made:

An issue in which specifying a UNC path for the “My Documents directory” resulted in Symptom 207 was resolved.
A problem in which the correct options did not appear for SPSS Exact Tests was fixed.
An issue whereby SPSS returned license error on Windows Vista when launched as an administrator, but ran successfully when started via "Run as admin" was fixed.
An issue in which very large default charts were produced in locations using comma separators was resolved.
A problem whereby the initial output state in Edit Options was ignored was repaired.
A bug in which the formatting was incorrect was exporting output to Excel was fixed.
A bug in which SPSS ignored user preferences when placing temporary files was fixed.
A problem in which output from SPSS Tables Original was not exported correctly was fixed.
An issue in which the Merge Files->Add Variables command led to errors 5123 and 5145 because the “BY” subcommand was not pasted was resolved.
A problem whereby selecting multiple viewer items using Ctrl-click in outline panel was not working was fixed.

NOTE: Output files (*.spv) created in version SPSS 16.0.1 may not display tables properly when opened in SPSS 16.0. Users on version 16.0 should patch to version 16.0.1 to address this issue.

Interactive Installation Instructions

Download the patch.
Double click on SPSS1601WindowsPatch.exe.
NOTE: Windows Vista users should right-click SPSS1601WindowsPatch.exe and select “Run as administrator”.
When prompted, click “Next” and then “Install” to install the patch.
Click “Finish” on the last installation panel.

Download the Interactive client patch: SPSS1601WindowsPatch.exe (57.1 MB )

Posted by yan at 03:59 PM

March 07, 2008

From MAPSS List: Trevor Hastie - Regularization

Why does the AIC work? When you add measures to a regression, the predictive power of the model always goes up. Regularization allows us to penalize models based on the number of parameters they include. This means that we can find the best model, rather than the most saturated one. Trevor Hastie, Statistics Department Chairman at Stanford University, talks about how regularization works and how we can use it this Tuesday (March 11th).

Tuesday, March 11th
12:15 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128

Regularization Paths

Regularization is a popular approach to model selection, with L2 and L1 taking center stage. Recently there has been a spate of research on efficient algorithms for computing regularization paths. In this talk I will touch on a number of areas:

• SVMs and the role of regularization
• boosting and its forward-stagewise regularization path
• degrees of freedom and inference along paths
• lars and glmpath software for R, and other programs.
• path- and coordinate-wise approaches

RSVP for Free Pizza (available at 12:00 PM)
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html

Trevor Hastie was born in South Africa in 1953. He received his university education from Rhodes University, South Africa (BS), University of Cape Town (MS), and Stanford University (Ph.D Statistics 1984).

After graduating he returned to South Africa for a year, and then returned in March 1986 and joined the statistics and data analysis research group at what was then AT&T Bell Laboratories. After 9 enjoyable years at Bell Labs, he returned to Stanford University in 1994 as Professor in Statistics and Biostatistics.

His main research contributions have been in the field of applied nonparametric regression and classification, and he has written two books in this area: "Generalized Additive Models" (with R. Tibshirani, Chapman and Hall, 1991), and "Elements of Statistical Learning" (with R. Tibshirani and J. Friedman, Springer 2001). He has also made contributions in statistical computing, co-editing (with J. Chambers) a large software library on modeling tools in the S language ("Statistical Models in S", Wadsworth, 1992), which form the basis for much of the statistical modeling in R and S-plus. His current research focuses on applied problems in biology and genomics, medicine and industry, in particular data mining, prediction and classification problems.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html.

Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:15. For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 08:57 PM

From IES Newsflash: Announcement of Upcoming ECLS/NHES Data Training Seminar

NCES will be conducting a 1-day training seminar on its early childhood studies on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at the 2008 annual meeting of the Population Association of America (PAA) in New Orleans, LA. This seminar provides researchers with tools for utilizing data from two programs at the Institute of Education Sciences' National Center for Education Statistics: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) and the National Household Education Surveys (NHES). The seminar provides overviews of the study designs and technical issues, highlights about data pertaining to children from birth through 8th grade, information on how the surveys compliment each other, and computer demonstrations of software that assists users in preparing data for analyses. The seminar is for graduate students, faculty, and researchers who have a solid understanding of statistics and limited familiarity with the ECLS and NHES data. Researchers who have previously attended an overview seminar on the
se studies, or who have attended an in-depth training on one of the studies and are not interested in the others, probably will not benefit from this seminar.

This seminar is free of charge; however, we ask that you register in advance because space is limited. For more information or to register, please contact us at ecls@air.org.

More information on the content of the seminar and the registration procedures is available on the ECLS and NHES websites.
http://nces.ed.gov/ecls
http://nces.ed.gov/nhes

Posted by ronbo at 12:25 PM

Selections from ESRI Training and Education News, March 2008

Desktop GIS

Advanced Techniques for Labels and Annotation
Instructor-Led Virtual Classroom Course
April 8-10, 2008
8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (PDT)
Discover strategies for efficiently manipulating labels and annotation so they display properly without hours of detailed work as well as how to customize label appearance and text using ArcGIS tools and sample code. Register now.

Understanding the ArcGIS Desktop Applications: What is ArcCatalog?
Complimentary Instructional Series Podcast
Receive an overview of ArcCatalog, how it fits into a workflow, and some of its default behaviors. Listen to the podcast. [MP3-7:53]

Authoring and Publishing Optimized Map Services
Complimentary Virtual Campus Web Training Seminar
Obtain techniques for authoring maps that will help you optimize the performance of both dynamic and cached Web mapping services. Try it now.

Introduction to Programming ArcObjects Using the Microsoft .NET Framework
Instructor-Led Course
Get an introduction to the ArcObjects libraries and learn how to develop custom GIS applications. Register now.

Posted by ronbo at 09:43 AM

From IES Newsflash: NAEP Sessions at AERA/NCME Meeting March 24-28

You may be interested in attending NAEP-related presentations at the upcoming annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) in New York. See a preliminary list of NAEP sessions:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/aera.asp

Note the March 27 training session, "Advanced Hands-on Exploration of NAEP Data on the Web," and the March 26 NAEP Studies SIG meeting, a forum for NAEP researchers.

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 09:39 AM

March 06, 2008

Selections from Census Product Update - March 06, 2008:

Fact of the Day
Treasure Trove of Data on County and Cities!

For cities with populations of 25,000 or more, Redmond, WA was the rainiest with an annual average of 82.86 inches. Calexico, CA and El Centro, CA both had the distinction of having the lowest annual precipitation at 2.96 inches. On the subject of housing, in the year 2000, Alcona County, MI had the greatest proportion of housing units that were owner-occupied at 89.9 percent, while Bronx County, NY had the lowest such proportion at 19.6 percent. There is much more data available in our County and City Data Book, so keep this resource handy in your webpage favorites list, or order it in print!

Hot Tip
Use Census Bureau Data Effectively!

Data are always interesting for its own sake, but application of the data is the key to success. Find out how local governments, community groups, businesses, and others have utilized data from the Census Bureau to locate facilities, apply for grants, or to conduct research. Spend a few minutes reading examples of how data have been used by decision-makers to answer key questions in ways that benefit business, the individual, or the community!

Posted by ronbo at 07:13 PM

From IES Newsflash: NAEP Researchers: 2006 Restricted-Use Data Files Available!

Data for all 2006 NAEP national assessments (Civics, Economics, and U.S. History) are available on CD-ROM to researchers in organizations holding licenses from NCES. See which NAEP variables are available in 2006 (and earlier datasets) at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/variablesrudata.asp

Learn about the NAEP Data Toolkit, a user-friendly tool developed for analyzing NAEP restricted-use data, at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/datatools2.asp#data_tool

For information on obtaining permission to analyze restricted-use data:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/license.asp

To get an idea of the complexity of NAEP data, look at the publicly available data. Use the NAEP Data Explorer:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 07:11 PM

From IRiSS: "Immigration and Inequality: An Egalitarian Case for Closed Borders?"

This seminar featuring Stephen Macedo of Princeton University takes place:

Wednesday, March 12
5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Room 370, Building 370, Main Quad

The event is free and open to the public.

Stephen Macedo is the Director of the University Center for Human Values and the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics at Princeton University. This lecture is part of the Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality's John E. Sawyer Seminar Series on the Dynamics of Inequality, sponsored by the Mellon Foundation. For information, contact Randy Michaud at rmichaud@stanford.edu

Posted by ronbo at 06:36 PM

March 05, 2008

2008 Summer North American Stata Users Group meeting

2008 Summer North American Stata Users Group meeting

July 24–25, 2008
Gleacher Center, University of Chicago
450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive
Chicago, IL 60611

Details at 2008 Summer North American Stata Users Group meeting: announcement and call for papers

Posted by yan at 03:31 PM

March 04, 2008

Roper Center Newsletter, March 2008

Systems & Computer Support Administrator Position

The Roper Center is looking for a Systems and Computer Support Administrator to serve as the primary day-to-day technical and computer support contact for a small to mid-sized LAN containing a multi-platform environment (Sorlaris, Server 2003, XP, Linux). The ideal candidate will have experience and broad-based knowledge of multiple platforms and networking with an understanding of compatibility and integration issues.

Newsworthy

One of our many partners, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, has released a new survey on religions in the US —the interactive web site of this 35,000+ respondent survey is remarkable. Check it out: http://religions.pewforum.org/

Topics at a Glance!--"US Elections"
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/elections/presidential/presidential_election.html

The Roper Center has added a new section to their website--US Elections! Here you can find data from the 1976 election to the current run for Presidency. Find out public opinion during each election year, along with the primary and election day exit poll results. Click here to get more public opinion data on this month's Topic at a Glance--US Elections!

Based on a new topic each month, TAG 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 "Topics at a Glance!" 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 March 3, 2008

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

Title: Kaiser/Harvard Likely Voters in Early Primary States Survey [November 2007]
Source: Survey by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health.
Methodology: Conducted by ICR-International Communications Research, November 1-November 11, 2007 and based on telephone interviews with a national likely primary/caucus voters in early primary states sample of 1,486. National likely voters are registered voters who said they were absolutely certain to vote/will probably vote in their state's primary or caucus in the 35 states and the District of Columbia whose primary or caucus was before the end of February 2008.
Search for: Searched iPOLL for: Organization: 'Kaiser'; Date: '11/01/2007 to 11/01/2007'

Additional resources - Web sites with special survey samples

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Religious Landscape Survey
http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf

AXA Global Retirement Survey
http://www.axa-equitable.com/pressroom/2008/20080204-SomberViewOfRetirement.html

Rock the Vote Youth Voter Poll
http://www.rockthevote.com/research/

Posted by ronbo at 06:29 PM

From IES Newsflash: New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has released the report "Ten Years After College: Comparing the Employment Experiences of 1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients With Academic and Career-Oriented Majors (NCES 2008-155)."

The report uses longitudinal data from the 1992-93 Baccalaureate and Beyond Study, which represents about 1.2 million bachelor's degree recipients that year. The report examines college graduates' work experiences in 1994, 1997, and 2003, describing their labor force status, employment stability, occupations and industries, salaries and benefits, and perceptions about their jobs. It compares the experiences of graduates with academic and career-oriented undergraduate majors. About half of all the graduates (51 percent) were employed and not enrolled at all three follow-ups, but the other half moved into and out of the workforce, often to pursue further education. By 2003, some 46 percent of graduates had at some point been unemployed (not working, but looking for work) since graduation, but unemployment became less prevalent the longer graduates had been out of college. By 2003, most graduates were settled in a job they considered a career, and had used their education. The a
verage salary for a graduate employed full time at one job, adjusted for inflation, had roughly doubled since 1994. A majority was satisfied with their pay, fringe benefits, job security, and opportunity for promotion. Compared with graduates with academic undergraduate majors, those with career-oriented majors appeared to establish themselves in the labor force earlier and relatively fewer obtained additional education.

To view, download and print the report as a pdf file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008155

Posted by ronbo at 07:43 AM

March 03, 2008

From MAPSS list: Gloria Miller - Multi-site Randomized Field Trial of an Elementary Science Curriculum

Comparing Curricula. How do we evaluate effective elementary curricula? Gloria I. Miller, Doctoral Candidate in Education at Stanford University, talks about one such study (March 3rd).

Tuesday, February 26th
12:15 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128

Multi-site Randomized Field Trial of an Elementary Science Curriculum

Multi-site Randomized Field Trial of an Elementary Science Curriculum
We investigated whether a newly published commercially available science curriculum is more effective than current science programs in five diverse sites using an experimental design approach. Results are presented in light of imbedded implementation study to suggest ways in which school environments and routines can present both opportunities and challenges for new curricula. Although we found no evidence that the new curriculum improved science achievement beyond the regular programs, boys and girls performed equally well, whereas the control group boys outperformed girls. Our results also show that under some conditions the program can enhance reading achievement.

In this talk, I will discuss three topics related to agent based models and game theory. The first will be basins of attraction and equilibrium selection. The second will consider the implications of heterogeneity of learning rules within a populaton. The third will be whether agent based models can capture "culture" in some form.

RSVP for Free Pizza (available at 12:00 PM)
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup_miller.html

Gloria I. Miller is both an experienced classroom educator and an expert learning-products developer in the electronics industry. While academic director of Sonoma State's PreCollege Programs, she helped the 3-1-3 program - now called University Transition Academy and winner of California State School Board's 1998 Golden Bell Award - to become a model high school-university collaboration. Miller co-authored Digital Design: Foundations of Web Design, which aligns key national technology standards?including both the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students and the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies?with the needs of K-12 education. She is completing a PhD at the Stanford University School of Education's Learning Sciences and Technology Development program, with a concentration on Curriculum and Teacher Education.

MAPSS is an interdisciplinary methodology program designed to expose researchers to diverse modes of data collection and analysis from across the social sciences. MAPSS offers a colloquium series, a workshop, a graduate certificate program, and various research resources. If you would like to learn more about the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), please check out our website at mapss.stanford.edu.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup_miller.html.

Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:15.
For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 01:54 PM

From IES Newsflash: NAEP Questions Tool: New Video Preview, Tutorial, and Data Feature

Do you want to see what NAEP questions are like and what you can do with them? A new video will introduce you to the NAEP Questions Tool in under two minutes. Go to

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrls/ and click "See video preview" at the bottom of the Questions Tool button.

Accompanying the new video are short but detailed lessons to help you use all the features of the NAEP Questions Tool, which are easily available from the new Tutorial button on the Questions Search page:

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrls/startsearch.asp

For each question, a selection feature has been added for educators and other researchers who want to examine response data for any jurisdiction in state NAEP. For your selected question in mathematics, reading, science, or writing, click on the "More Data" tab to examine data for any a single state or TUDA.

Don't forget about the way to get a quick look at representative questions from recent assessments: click on Test Yourself on

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrls/

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 01:50 PM