1. Econ580: DISC Services Cindy Severt Senior Special Librarian February 17, 2014 http://www.disc.wisc.edu/ http://www.disc.wisc.edu/

2. DISC: Where & When? Data & Information Services Center 3308 Sewell Social Science Building Hours: 8:30am – 4:30pm, Mon-Fri. Phone: 262-0750 Email: disc@mailplus.wisc.edu http://www.disc.wisc.edu/

3. DISC: What do we do? We help users find social science data suitable for their research project, term paper, dissertation. We maintain one of the first, and largest webliography of sites that make data available. We archive, and make available locally produced social science datasets. We maintain a Blog of current social science data newsworthy items. We help researchers navigate the minefields of gaining access to restricted data.

4. DISC: Who are we? Cindy – Reference questions such as I need data on state allocation of funds for higher education on an annual rate since 1970. Lu – Maintains Websites for DISC, CDHA (Center for Demography of Health & Aging), and BADGIR (Better Access to Data for Global Interdisciplinary Research) DISC Archive and Crossroads Charlie – Census data, program files for statistical analysis (SAS, SPSS, Stata), DISC Website and Blog Jack – Restricted data access and security

5. How do I find data for my research project? I need data on population is as broad as saying I need a book on history. Define what it is you want to analyze, or prove, or illustrate. Define your variables. Example: My research paper examines the economic costs of addiction. Drug use Substance abuse Income or lost wages Employed vs. unemployed

6. Where do I find data for my research project? First, some words of advice: Be amenable to changing your topic. Serendipity is a good thing. Expect to go down the rabbit hole; not through the worm hole. The human mind is contextual; the internet is not. Now, to get started……..

7. ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research) http://www.icpsr.umich.edu Search by study title economic costs of drug addiction Look at a questionnaire Look at related publications

8. ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research) http://www.icpsr.umich.edu Search by variable Addiction Costs Examine the first example, and other variables in this study. Is this a useful way to look for data?

9. ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research http://www.icpsr.umich.edu Search by publication Economic costs of drug addiction Costs + addiction Click on The Economic Costs of Heroin Addiction in the United States. Read the abstract – does it sound promising? What dataset was analyzed for this publication?

10. Roper Center via iPOLL http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/ iPOLL allows you to search by question and see the results by frequency. drug addiction costs

11. UW Libraries Databases http://www.library.wisc.edu/#databases Search by main subjec t: Economics Search by type : Datasets or Statistics

12. DISCs Crossroads DISCs searchable annotated webliography of sites that offer data, http://www.disc.wisc.edu/newcrossroads/ http://www.disc.wisc.edu/newcrossroads/ Search for drugs, then substance abuse Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) Quick Tables and SDA

13. Cite it right! Be sure to cite your data – as you would any other source used in your paper. DISCs citation guide: http://www.disc.wisc.edu/userguides/cite.html http://www.disc.wisc.edu/userguides/cite.html

14. Start your search for data sooner instead of later!

15. Archiving your data Locally produced datasets http://www.disc.wisc.edu/archive/index.h tml http://www.disc.wisc.edu/archive/index.h tml Why would you want to archive your data? Its becoming increasingly required by grants to do so Provides wider access Ensures ongoing usability

16. Current Awareness DISC News Blog, http://www.disc.wisc.edu/discnews/ http://www.disc.wisc.edu/discnews/ Current Awareness Social Science Research Reports, http://www.disc.wisc.edu/reports/cssrindex.ht ml http://www.disc.wisc.edu/reports/cssrindex.ht ml Current Awareness in Aging Report, http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cdha/CAAR.html http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cdha/CAAR.html

17. Crossroads Arguably one of the first, and most comprehensive collections of links to free, public data, http://www.disc.wisc.edu/newcrossroads/ index.asp http://www.disc.wisc.edu/newcrossroads/ index.asp

18. Restricted Data Datasets are generally restricted because of issues of confidentiality or geocoding; both of which potentially allow respondents to be identified, http://www.disc.wisc.edu/restricted/index.ht ml http://www.disc.wisc.edu/restricted/index.ht ml Used primarily by faculty and dissertators. Lengthy application process that can take longer than a semester.

19. Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom. -- Clifford Stoll, American astronomer and author