Finding what you want and wanting what you find

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Finding what you want and wanting what you find

• Felicia LeClere, Ph.D.
• Director, Data Sharing for Demographic Research
• Minority Data Resource Center

March 24, 2009
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Introduction

• Goals of webinar
• Help expedite search strategies
• Learn from the things you find
• Understand what you wont find
• Rethink how you approach data searches beyond
  ICPSR
• search environment will change soon

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What are we looking for ?

• Data for research
• Data for reference
• More substantive and technical information about
  what youve found

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What we wont look at.

• Summer Program
• Teaching Tools and Data For Teaching
• ICPSR Research Projects
• ICPSR Bibliography or Publications-Related
  Archive

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Data for Research

• You know what you want
• You sort of know what you want
• You have no idea

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You know what you want

• You have the following information
• An Acronym NCVS, Add Health, TEDS
• A Survey Name National Health Interview Survey
  on Disability
• A Series Name Current Population Survey
• An Investigator or Agency Name Fogel, National
  Center for Health Statistics

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Use search box on the front page

• Click off web page search
• Choose a field in drop down to avoid too large a
  list. Main search includes title, investigator,
  study number (ICPSR), and search terms.
• Main search box

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What you get ..
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What you dont get ..

• This is not a Google search ---it is searching
  only ICPSR
• It is confined to only the data we have
• example . there may be other data out there
  we have not found yet
• example Current Population Survey

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What else do you learn ..

• Lets say you found your study ..
• You want Robert Fogels Civil War Series data
  and you click on the Series you found and then

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What does the metadata record tell us

• Persistent URL --- (DOI) The Digital Object
  Identifier (DOI) System is for identifying
  content objects in the digital environment. DOI
  names are assigned to any entity for use on
  digital networks. They are used to provide
  current information, including where they (or
  information about them) can be found on the
  Internet. Information about a digital object may
  change over time, including where to find it, but
  its DOI name will not change.
• Bibliographic citation to add to research
  publication
• Searchable fields including geography and subject
  terms that link to other studies

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What does the metadata record tell us (can be
searched)

• Time frame of collection and inference
• Universe of original sample
• Sampling frame
• Processing notes and version history
• Data source ---census, survey, admin records

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The limits of the metadata record

• These fields are only as accurate as the
  underlying documentation
• There are not clear rules about how to fill out
  the fields by our data staff
• But the fields of the metadata record are
  available on an advanced search

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What else do we get .

• Check study tabs for additional information
  (not all tabs are present in all studies). These
  provide guides to data set selection.
• Latino National Survey

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Tabs

• Browse Documentation (mydata login)
• Download (mydata login)
• Analyze and Subset (SDA and utilities)
• Related Literature
• Related Data
• Sample Characteristics
• Browse Archive

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Even if you know what you want..

• Efficient study selection or data reference
  suggests more than finding it but also
  knowing it.
• .dont go directly to the download

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You sort of know what you want

• What do you know?
• Keywords or themes
• Population or universe
• Time frame
• Geography
• Type of data

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Keywords or themes

• Three ways to search for substance
• Keywords from our thesaurus
• Broad thematic or topical areas
• Specialty archives and searches

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Using the thesaurus

• This is a controlled vocabulary that we use to
  describe our studies. It consists of subject
  terms, names, and geography. If you do a lot of
  searching for instance you are a data reference
  librarian --- it may be worth looking at. The
  keywords are assigned to studies by data
  processors and our library staff. They are also
  on the metadata record (and viewable from there).
  
• ICPSR Thesaurus

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Using the thesaurus

• Use the advance search and limit the field
  searches to make the list more comprehensible.
  For subject term searches use only subject term
  in drop down.
• Advanced search

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Limits of thesaurus searches

• Only as good as subject terms assigned.
• Really inefficient if not thoughtfully executed.
  (limit fields .think through other conditions)
  
• Remember ranking may or not reflect relevance

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ICPSR Thematic Categories

• The collection is organized into broad themes.
• Each study is assigned to one or more broad
  thematic groupings that have their origin in
  ICPSR history. These are not mutually exclusive.
• Thematic groups are useful for browsing not for
  searching.

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ICPSR Themes

• Broad areas of quantitative social science.
• ICPSR Themes
• These are assigned by a more general set of rules
  and you are more likely to find studies grouped
  together that have a strong substantive tie to
  one another.

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When to use ICPSR Themes

• Lay of the land
• A graduate student comes in and says I want to
  do a class project on education
• Project planning . I am thinking about a long
  term project on historical trends in public
  school staffing. How far back does the Common
  Core data go back? Is there something else I can
  use?

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Topical Archives

• Usually projects that are funded by some
  independent source.
• Vary in depth, concept, and scope
• Dont necessarily cover the entire subject
  matter described by name. That is the entire
  collection will not be inventoried for coverage.
  

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Topical archivesThe Big Three

• Biggest and most comprehensive (long-standing and
  funded for data dissemination)
• NACDA (aging and health)
• SAMDHA (mental health and substance abuse)
• NACJD (crime, the courts, policing..)
• These archives have their own aids to navigation,
  search procedures and additional bibliographies.
  If these are your areas --- start here. These
  are comprehensive sites.

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Topical archives The boutiques

• These are funded for particular agendas and are
  not as comprehensive. Read thematic charge to
  decide if these are relevant before you limit
  search.
• Child Care ---Research Connections
• Data Sharing for Demographic Research
• Health and Medical Care
• International Data Resource Center
• Minority Data Resource Center
• Terrorism and Preparedness Data Resource
  Center

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When to start with topical archives

• Area is in the big three
• Archive charge makes sense
• Always take subject terms found in studies for
  archive and go back and search the main
  collection from front page

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What if I dont know what I want

• Search your soul first .?
• Then try meandering the collection with some of
  the following aids (find it on Browse)
• Series
• On-line Analysis
• Other Web sites
• Geography
• Social Science Variables Data Base

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Search efficiencies

• Never do searches without nuances
• Use other characteristics of the data collection
  to narrow search
• Use thesaurus, themes, and acronym list to your
  advantage
• .and remember to stop and browse the
  collection. You will find some hidden gems.