Social Science Data and Information Literacy Toolkit
What is data literacy?
"Data literacy is the ability to read and interpret data, to think critically about statistics, and to use statistics as evidence." - Karen Hogenboom, Carissa M. Holler Phillips, and Merinda Hensley
Data Literacy Resources
- Overview of Data LiteracyThe Data Literacy Project designed educational courses and content to inform, equip and inspire you or your organization to use data as part of your everyday language.
- Data Literacies DefinitionsKey data terms defined.
- Citing DataCiting data is as important as citing literature used in a paper. This is a discussion of why it is important and how to properly cite data.
- Introduction to Research Data ManagementAn introduction to the concepts and best practices of research data management.
- Federal Reserve Lessons for Teaching Data LiteracyLessons in the Data Literacy Series can be used by university and school faculty and staff to teach students how to reliably identify, interpret, and communicate data. Each lesson reviews data interpretation, analysis, and/or presentation concepts in detail.
- Calling Bullshit: Data Reasoning in a Digital WorldThe aim of this course is to help students navigate the bullshit-rich modern environment by identifying bullshit, seeing through it, and combating it with effective analysis and argument.
- An Exploration of Data & BiasThis unit will explore the concepts of bias and confirmation bias and how they affect people's presentation and interpretation of data.
- Managing Qualitative Social Science DataThis interactive on-line course on managing qualitative data; each lesson is designed to function as a stand-alone resource that can be completed individually.
- Defining DataThis modules teaches about data by defining, describing, and providing examples of data used in social science research.
- IPUMS TutorialsIPUMS provides easy to understand video tutorials to guide users through using IPUMS sites, creating extracts, and using our online analysis tools.
- U.S. Census AcademyYou'll find Data Gems, courses, and webinars pertaining to the topic of Data Tools that the U.S. Census Bureau has to offer.
- CDC Video GuidesTo help you get started with our tools, we've created a series of videos designed to teach you the basics about interacting with this data site.
- Federal Reserve Data Resource TutorialsAn instructor’s guide to using St. Louis Fed resources in the classroom and at the library.
- Federal Depository Library Program Training RepositoryWebinars on various topics related to government information. Listings are in reverse chronological.
- ICPSR 101 Video TutorialsThe ICPSR video series focuses on ICPSR FAQs, and the many research data resources available from ICPSR.
- ICPSR Data Driven Learning GuidesThese standardized exercises introduce (or reinforce) key concepts in the social sciences by guiding students through a series of questions and related data analyses. Analyses are preset so students can focus on content rather than mechanics of data analysis.
- ICPSR Classroom Exercise ModulesThese resources are made up of sequenced activities. Exercise Sets are often appropriate for Research Methods courses and more substantively focused courses.
- Pew Research CenterPew Research Center makes its data available to the public for secondary analysis after a period of time.
- Federal Reserve Economic Research Published Data ListsPublished data lists are economic time series data sets that users of this site have chosen to make publicly available.
- CDC WONDERNearly 20 collections of public-use data for U.S. births, deaths, cancer diagnoses, tuberculosis cases, vaccinations, environmental exposures, and population estimates, among many other topics.
- Data.govHere you will find data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more.
- OECD.StatOECD.Stat includes data and metadata for OECD countries and selected non-member economies.
- UNESCOFind datasets related to Education & LiteracyScience, Technology & InnovationCulture Communication& Information
- Global Health Observatory DataThe GHO data repository contains an extensive list of indicators, which can be selected by theme or through a multi-dimension query functionality. It is the World Health Organization's main health statistics repository.
- DatabankDataBank is an analysis and visualisation tool that contains collections of time series data on a variety of topics. You can create your own queries; generate tables, charts, and maps; and easily save, embed, and share them.
- UH Libraries Digital Research Commons Tutorials and ResourcesLocated on the 2nd floor of M.D. Anderson Library (Room 266-C), the Digital Research Commons is a physical and intellectual space at the heart of the University of Houston campus.
- A Resource Guide for Data JournalismThis project serves as a centralized place where journalism students learn basics of data journalism, from locating data sources and understanding data to visualizing and displaying data.
Library Databases and Data Repositories
- Data Planet This link opens in a new windowData-Planet provides access to statistical data produced by U.S. Federal agencies, States, private organizations, and major intergovernmental organizations. There are over 185+ billion data points available in charts, maps, views, rankings, time series and tables in the Data Planet repository. Data Planet offers powerful capabilities to compare & contrast multiple data series, perform statistical calculations on the data, and customize output views
- ICPSR This link opens in a new windowICPSR offers more than 500,000 digital files containing social science research data. Disciplines represented include political science, sociology, demography, economics, history, gerontology, criminal justice, public health, foreign policy, terrorism, health and medical care, early education, education, racial and ethnic minorities, psychology, law, substance abuse and mental health, and more.
- Wharton Research Data Services This link opens in a new windowWharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is a research platform and business intelligence tool that provides access to CompuStat, S&P Capital IQ, CRSP, NYSE, Thomson Reuters, Bureau van Dijk, Global Insight, OptionMetrics and other important business research databases, with data reaching across multiple disciplines including accounting, banking, economics, finance, ESG, and statistics.
- Data Planet This link opens in a new windowExplore a vast collection of U.S. and international statistics in Data Planet. With this dynamic tool, you can scan and search the contents of billions of datasets, compare and contrast variables of interest, and create customized views in tables, maps, rankings, and charts. Views also include descriptive summaries of the datasets and data sources. Datasets cover a wide range of subjects – including business, finance, banking, economics, sociology, political science, demography, agriculture, education, international studies, criminal justice, housing and construction, labor and employment, energy resources and industries, and more. Sources include public, private/commercial, and nongovernmental organizations.
- SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new windowSimplyAnalytics (formerly SimplyMap) is a web-based mapping application to create professional quality, interactive thematic maps and reports using thousands of U.S. demographic, business, and marketing variables. Select, sort, and compare data across multiple geographic locations and create custom reports exportable to spreadsheets.
- Social Explorer This link opens in a new windowProvides quick and easy access to current and historical census data and demographic information. Note Requires registering a free account once you access the database.
- Statistical Abstract of the U.S. This link opens in a new windowThe ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. The online version includes monthly updates to tables, deep searching at the line-item level, powerful facets for narrowing search results, image and spreadsheet versions of all current and historical tables, along with links to provider sites.
- PolicyMap This link opens in a new windowPolicyMap is a fully web-based online data and mapping application that gives you access to over 15,000 indicators related to demographics, housing, crime, mortgages, health, jobs and more. Data is available at all common geographies (address, block group, census tract, zip code, county, city, state, MSA) as well as unique geographies like school districts and political boundaries. Data comes from both public and proprietary sources.
- Data Mining for the Social SciencesProviding a simple and accessible introduction to data mining, Paul Attewell and David B. Monaghan discuss how data mining substantially differs from conventional statistical modeling familiar to most social scientists.
- Designing Experiments and Analyzing Data: A Model Comparison PerspectiveThrough this book's unique model comparison approach, students and researchers are introduced to a set of fundamental principles for analyzing data. After seeing how these principles can be applied in simple designs, students are shown how these same principles also apply in more complicated designs.
- Categorical Data Analysis for the Behavioral and Social SciencesFeaturing a practical approach with numerous examples, this book focuses on helping the reader develop a conceptual, rather than technical, understanding of categorical methods, making it a much more accessible text than others on the market.
- Longitudinal and Panel Data: Analysis and Applications in the Social Sciences byIntroduces the subject's foundations at a level suitable for quantitatively oriented graduate social-science students and individual researchers. Includes real-world data sets and software programs in SAS and Stata.
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