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Finding & Using Data from ICPSR

Guidance for locating and using data from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research

What is ICPSR?

The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is an organization of member institutions that support the acquisition and preservation of social science data, to provide open and equitable access, and to promote effective data use, by: 

  • maximizing access to research data for analysis and publications
  • providing data management & curation services to fulfill grant requirements and assure long-term viability of research data
  • educating and training current & future research methodologists & data scientists 

ICPSR is the world's largest archive of computer-readable social science data including education, public health, sociology, political science, criminal justice, history, and economics, and more.

While the ICPSR holdings include several time series and other types of aggregate data, the holdings consist mainly of raw data derived from surveys, censuses, and administrative records. 

Using ICPSR for Research and Publication

Locate data through a variety of search options to,

  • Find data for secondary analysis
  • Find data for replication studies
  • Evaluate or analyze data
  • Locate what has been published already using the data

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Using ICPSR for Teaching