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August 31, 2009
Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2009-08-30
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
24604 ABC News/Washington Post Pre-Super Tuesday Poll, January 2008
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR24604
24721 Focal Point Theory Test of Behavior and Attitudes
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR24721
26101 Empirical Investigation of "Going to Scale" in Drug Interventions in the United States, 1990, 2003
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26101
Updates
2030 Center for Research on Social Reality [Spain] Survey, January 1994: Supranational Identification
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02030
7074 Public Opinion Concerning the Japanese Constitution, 1962
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07074
8879 Census of Utah Territory, 1880
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08879
9143 CBS News/New York Times First Presidential Debate Panel Survey, September 1988
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09143
9473 National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle IV, 1988
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09473
22560 National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006 [Record-Type Files]
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR22560
22626 India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 2005
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR22626
24741 National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007 [Collection Year Record-Type Files]
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR24741
25141 National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007 [Record-Type Files]
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25141
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 03:41 PM
August 26, 2009
From Census Product Update: Hot Tip - Three Ways To Search the Census Web Site
First, in the upper right-hand corner of the Census web page, click "FAQs," for the Question and Answer Center. Here you can search our dynamic set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) or submit your question online for a quick emailed response.
Second, in the upper right hand corner of the Census home page you can type your search terms into the white text box and click "Go." This produces a search of the entire Census Bureau web site, along with the first several FAQs related to your search terms.
Third, click "Subjects A-Z" for hyperlinks to hundreds of Census subject areas and concepts on our website.
With these methods of locating data on the web site, you will be on your way toward locating Census data!
Posted by ronbo at 10:41 AM
August 25, 2009
From Center for Urban Ethnography (UCB): UC Berkeley Social Research Workshops- Atlas Ti and QCA/Fuzzy-Sets
Practical Qualitative Data Analysis in Atlas Ti Workshop
September 19-20,2009
This two-day workshop course will provide both a conceptual
background and practical experience in computer assisted qualitative
data analysis (CAQDA) using Atlas Ti. The workshop begins by
examining the core elements common to all CAQDA, regardless of
methodological orientation, discipline/profession, or platform. After
instruction in the fundamental aspects of CAQDA, the course turns to
the logic of the Atlas Ti program, and how it functions as a tool for
CAQDA. The majority of the workshop consists of hands on practical
instruction and exercises in Atlas ti. By the end of the course,
participants will have all the conceptual and practical tools
necessary to employ Atlas to its full capacity in their current or
future projects involving qualitative data.
Topics covered include: 1.How to perform the fundamentals of computer
aided qualitative data analysis in Atlas Ti, 2. The specific
strategies necessary for dealing with different types of data
including ethnographic field notes, in-depth interviews, texts,
audio, video, and documents, 3. How to organize your data set, 4. How
to construct and deploy a coding scheme for your project, 5. Making
the best use of memos, 6. Inductive and deductive strategies for
investigating substantive relationships in your data, 7. The query
tool and reverse polish notation, and 8. Advanced functions in Atlas
Ti (i.e. networks, geocoding, quantitative output, supercodes and
snapshots, multi-researcher projects, tools for inter-coder
reliability, etc.).
For more information, and registration, please visit us online at:
http://socialresearch.berkeley.edu/pages/atlas_ti_workshop_overview.html
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy-Set Methods
September 25-26, 2009
This two-day course will help participants understand the conceptual
logic of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and provide them a
basic introduction to performing QCA using fs/QCA, a free software
package. The course includes lecture and discussion, practical
demonstrations, paper and pencil exercises, and computer exercises.
The first day will cover the basic logic of the method, contrasting
it with conventional practices in both quantitative and qualitative
social research. Participants will also have the opportunity to
practice basic skills such as translating variables or field notes
into sets, using scatterplots to assess different types of causal
relationships, evaluating logical statements with empirical data, and
using simple Boolean algebra to simplify logical statements.
The second day is devoted to putting these skills to use by working
through several extended examples, considering how to incorporate QCA
into qualitative and quantitative research, andif time permitsto
discussing how QCA can help with participants specific projects.
For more information, and registration, please visit us online at:
http://socialresearch.berkeley.edu/pages/fuzzy_set_methods_workshop_overview.html
Posted by ronbo at 06:13 PM
ANES Announcement: An invitation to learn about the ANES at the APSA annual meeting
You are cordially invited to attend two ANES related events at the APSA
annual meeting in Toronto!
First, our annual Public Meeting will be held at 10am on Saturday,
September 5th.
We will provide updates on:
– The 2008 Time Series Study survey data
– The 2008-2009 Panel Study survey data
– New developments on coding of open-ended questions
– Information on many other ongoing ANES projects
After each of these presentations, there will be time for comments and
questions. We are very interested in your views. The public meeting is
scheduled for Room 704 at the Convention Center. As locations are subject
to change, please check your program to verify the location.
In addition to the Public Meeting, we will be conducting a roundtable
titled "What's Now and What's Next: The Present and Future of the American
National Election Studies." Joining us on the panel will be Matthew
DeBell, Vincent Hutchings, Gary Segura, Simon Jackman and Keith Payne. De
Bell, Krosnick, and Lupia will lead a presentation about substantive and
technical advances pertinent to the ANES's 2008 Time Series and the
2008-2009 Panel Study. Hutchings, Jackman, and Segura, will report on the
grant that they have submitted to fund the ANES through the next
presidential election. Keith Payne, from the University of North Carolina,
will discuss the use and implications of the Affect Misattribution
Procedure, a new psychological measure that was included in both the Panel
and Time Series studies. The roundtable is scheduled for 4:15pm on
Saturday, September 5th in Room 802B at the Convention Center. As
locations are subject to change, please check your program to verify the
location.
We hope you to see there!
Jon A. Krosnick and Arthur Lupia
ANES Principal Investigators
Posted by ronbo at 01:25 PM
August 24, 2009
Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2009-08-23
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
22981 Afrobarometer Round 3: The Quality of Democracy and Governance in 18
African Countries, 2005-2006
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR22981
24661 Voice of the People Millennium Survey, 2000
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR24661
24941 Natality Detail File, 2006 [United States]
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR24941
25121 Inter-communal Violence and Conflict: Perspectives Opinion Survey of
Ghana, 2008
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25121
25426 Organizations Convicted in Federal Criminal Courts, 2008
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25426
25983 National Survey of Medical Decisions, 2006-2007
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25983
26061 Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data [United States]: Arson, 2007
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26061
Updates
4596 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2005
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04596
6175 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, January 1993
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06175
6876 Parenthood in Early Twentieth-Century America Project (PETCAP),
1900-1944
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06876
7759 Census of Population and Housing [United States], 1970 Public Use
Sample: Merged Family Household Data Records for 42 SMSAs
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07759
7922 Census of Population and Housing [United States], 1970 Public Use
Sample: Modified 1/1000 5% State Samples
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07922
7923 Census of Population and Housing [United States], 1970 Public Use
Sample: Modified 1/1000 15% State Samples
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07923
8872 Contentious Gatherings in Britain, 1758-1834
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08872
9109 CBS News Post Republican Convention Poll, August 1988
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09109
9473 National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle IV, 1988
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09473
9488 CBS News/New York Times Abortion Poll, July 1989
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09488
20347 Impact of Institutional Placement on the Recidivism of Delinquent
Youth in New York City, 2000-2003
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR20347
21240 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2006
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21240
21741 Chinese Household Income Project, 2002
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21741
21981 Census of Population and Housing, 1970 [United States]: Documentation
for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21981
21982 Census of Population and Housing, 1980 [United States]: Documentation
for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21982
22625 Organizations Convicted in Federal Criminal Courts, 2007
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR22625
23782 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2007
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR23782
25101 Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data [United States]: Offenses Known
and Clearances by Arrest, 2007
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25101
25114 Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data [United States]: County-Level
Detailed Arrest and Offense Data, 2007
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25114
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 03:08 PM
August 18, 2009
Upcoming Stata training
Upcoming public training sessions, taught by Bill Rising (StataCorp's Director of Educational Services), have been scheduled for New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.
Introduction to the New Features of Stata 11 is a one-day course geared towards users of Stata 10 or earlier who want to quickly become proficient in Stata's newest features. Topics covered include using tools for multiple imputation, using factor variables, and performing marginal analyses. You will also learn tips for improving your workflow through efficient use of the all-new Do-file Editor and Variables Manager. The course will also touch on some new additions and extensions to Stata's existing estimation and programming tools.
Course cost is $395. This is a hands-on course; computers with Stata installed will be provided. Enrollment is limited to 24 participants.
This course will take place on October 2, 2009, in San Francisco.
Using Stata Effectively: Data Management, Analysis, and Graphics Fundamentals is a two-day course aimed at both new Stata users and those who want to use Stata more effectively. You will learn to use Stata efficiently and work in a reproducible and self-explanatory manner, making collaborative changes and follow-up analyses much simpler.
The course will cover Stata basics, data management, workflow (including overviews of Stata's command line, scripting, Stata's GUI, and how to intermix them), analysis (including basic statistical commands and common postestimation commands for predictions, hypothesis tests, marginal effects, and such), and graphics (including the Graph Editor).
Course cost is $950. This is a hands-on course; computers with Stata installed will be provided. Enrollment is limited to 24 participants.
Course dates and locations are as follows:
New York City
August 26-27, 2009
San Francisco
September 30-October 1, 2009
Chicago
October 28-29, 2009
For more information on either course, including details on the topics covered, or to enroll, see http://www.stata.com/training/public.html.
Posted by ronbo at 04:12 PM
From IES Newsflash: U.S. Performance Across International Assessments of Student Achievement: Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2009
On the most recent international tests, students in a number of countries consistently outperformed their U.S. peers across the board in reading, math, and science, according to U.S. Performance Across International Assessments of Student Achievement: Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2009, a report released today by the Institute of Education Sciences' National Center for Education Statistics.
This report, for the first time, pulls together the evidence from the most recent international assessments taken by nearly a million students from 85 countries worldwide. This includes three internationally benchmarked exams -- the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). While the mathematics scores of U.S. students have improved since 1995, there have been no gains in science or reading.
Results from these international tests already have been released separately. However, this special analysis brings the results altogether to reveal how the United States compares with other countries across all three core subjects and at the elementary, middle and high school level in terms of students' average scores and the percentage of students reaching internationally benchmarked performance levels. It also examines trends in U.S. student performance and the range of performance for the highest- and lowest-scoring students in each country. Although the tests differ somewhat by content, grades tested and countries participating, several trends emerge.
Findings include:
* In reading, the average scores of U.S. students are the same or higher than their peers in roughly three-quarters of the other countries that have participated in PIRLS and PISA assessments. Moreover, the number of countries that outperformed the United States on PIRLS increased from three in 2001 to seven in 2006 among the 28 countries that participated in both tests.
* In mathematics, results from the 2007 TIMSS assessment show that U.S. students have improved at both grades 4 and 8 since the first administration of TIMSS in 1995.
* The most recent PISA results suggests that U.S. 15-year-olds are not as successful in applying mathematics knowledge and skills to real-world tasks as their peers in many other developed nations. The mathematics average score placed U.S. 15-year-olds in the bottom quarter of participating developed nations, a position unchanged from 2003.
* In science, results from TIMSS 2007 assessment show that U.S. 4th graders have fallen behind their peers in several countries, even though their average scores in science have not declined since the first administration of TIMSS in 1995. Among the other 15 countries that participated in the 1995 and 2007 TIMSS at grade 4, the average science score increased in seven countries and decreased in five countries; at grade 8, the average science score increased in five countries and decreased in three countries among the other 18 countries that participated in both 1995 and 2007.
The full text of "U.S. Performance Across International Assessments of Student Achievement: Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2009" (in HTML format) can be viewed at
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2009/analysis/
Posted by ronbo at 04:10 PM
August 17, 2009
ANES Announcement: Release of Redacted Open-Ended Responses
ANES is pleased to make available redacted versions of the responses to
the open-ended questions from the 2008 Time Series Study. The file is
called anes2008TSredacted.zip. It includes the redacted responses and the
procedures used in the redaction process. The responses are provided in
an Excel workbook that includes one spreadsheet with all responses as well
as individual spreadsheets for each question.
We are making this information available in response to the research
community's request for data from the open-ended questions. Fully coded
responses will be provided at a later date and will be based on our
findings concerning the past releases of coded responses to our political
knowledge questions (a copy of the report can be found here:
http://electionstudies.org/announce/newsltr/20080324PoliticalKnowledgeMemo.pdf),
and information we gathered at our Conference on Optimal Coding of
Open-Ended Survey Data (information about the conference as well as the
presentations from the conference can be found here:
http://www.electionstudies.org/conferences/methods/MethodsConference.htm).
Posted by ronbo at 06:52 PM
August 11, 2009
New IES Report from the National Center for Education Statistics: "Technical Report and Data File User's Manual for 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy"
The report details information on the development and implementation of the 2003 NAAL. Key sections of the report include information on the development of survey instruments, field test and main assessment sample design, assessment items and scoring rubrics, data collection process and quality of the data, weighting, scaling, treatment of missing data, and data analysis.
Other sections of the report include technical information on the:
1. development of NAAL innovative additions--Fluency Addition to NAAL (FAN) and Adult Literacy Supplement Assessment (ALSA);
2. types and dimensions of the health literacy cognitive items;
3. data collection and data analysis in the US correctional institutions;
4. a user’s manual on how to use statistical programs for analyzing NAAL data.
To view the full report please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009476
Or visit the NAAL web site at: http://nces.ed.gov/naal
Posted by ronbo at 09:24 PM
August 10, 2009
Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2009-08-09
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
22022 Afrobarometer Round 3: The Quality of Democracy and Governance in Cape
Verde, 2005
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR22022
25861 National Incident-Based Reporting System, 1991: Extract Files
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25861
25862 National Incident-Based Reporting System, 1992: Extract Files
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25862
25863 National Incident-Based Reporting System, 1993: Extract Files
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25863
25864 National Incident-Based Reporting System, 1994: Extract Files
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25864
25921 Chicago Longitudinal Study, 1986-1989
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25921
Updates
4248 ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly),
1999-2001 [United States]
http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04248
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 03:41 PM
August 05, 2009
CSES Announcement: Free APSA Short Course
New Opportunities, New Challenges: The CSES & EES Data Sets
Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 9:30am – 5:00pm
Toronto Convention Centre Room 202A, Toronto, Canada
This course is free, but registration is required.
Please register with Jill Wittrock (email: jill.wittrock@politics.ox.ac.uk).
The CSES and PIREDEU are offering a joint short course on electoral research using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) and the European Election Studies (EES) series. The CSES is a collaborative program of research among election study teams from around the world. The CSES is unique among comparative post-electoral studies because of the extent of cross-national collaboration at all stages of the project: the research agenda, the survey instrument, and the study design are developed by the CSES Planning Committee, and this design is then implemented in each country as part of their national post-election studies. The resulting data are deposited along with voting, demographic, district and macro variables. The PIREDEU project aims to design an infrastructure for research into citizenship, political participation and electoral democracy in the member states of the EU. The goal of PIREDEU is to provide a comprehensive empirical database under the auspi ces of the EES. In the field of electoral studies, the EES is one of the very few cross-system, cross-temporal datasets, and the only comparative data project that combines cross-national voter surveys with elite, media, manifesto and contextual data.
The CSES contributors will provide participants with a broad overview of the rich data set that constitutes the CSES, to develop an appreciation of the wide variety of research questions that can be addressed with CSES data, and to explore some of the methodological challenges that are involved in using multi-level data. The ESS contributors will provide participants an introduction to the content and the analytical possibilities of the EES as an instrument of comparative studies on electoral politics, political parties, political behavior, representation and European integration. The topics covered will include the different components of the EES, information on the contents of available data, and a discussion of the methodological possibilities and challenges related to the use of this data set. During the afternoon session, the instructors will assist participants on issues and concerns that arise in their own research.
The short course is ideally suited for both graduate students and faculty members who are working in these areas and who would like to know more about the current state of cross-national electoral research. You may find more information about CSES at http://www.cses.org and PIREDEU at http://www.piredeu.eu/
Presenters:
John Aldrich, Duke University (CSES)
David Howell, University of Michigan (CSES)
Jessica Fortin, GESIS (CSES)
Mark Franklin, EUI (EES)
Jill Wittrock, University of Oxford (EES)
Preliminary Schedule:
9:30 – 9:45 ... Check-in and registration
9:45 – 10:00 ... Introductory remarks & plan for the day
10:00 – 11:15 ... CSES: introduction and using the data
11:15 – 11:20 ... Break
11:20 – 12:30 ... EES: introduction and using the data
12:30 – 2:00 ... Lunch break
2:00 – 3:30 ... Data issues unique to the CSES and EES
3:30 – 5:00 ... Discussion of individual projects
We hope to see you there!
Posted by ronbo at 04:33 PM
August 04, 2009
From ResourceShelf: New: IMF Launches New Online Database of Financial Soundness Indicators
From SKNVibes.com
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched a new…which will allow public access to an expanding database of indicators of financial sector soundness for member countries.
The disseminated financial soundness indicators (FSIs), ranging from regulatory capital adequacy ratios to real estate prices, can assist in analyzing the soundness of financial institutions as a sector as well as in assessing the conditions of the counterpart corporate and household sectors of relevant markets. FSIs complement other assessments of soundness such as early warning indicators and macroeconomic vulnerability exercises.
The site, http://fsi.imf.org/, is linked to a database holding FSI data from more than 25 countries, a number which is expected to increase as the database is expanded and more countries contribute data on a voluntary basis. The list of FSIs and the methodology of their compilation were developed over a number of years by IMF staff in close consultation with a group of experts from other international institutions and IMF member countries.
Posted by ronbo at 07:46 PM