Research Guides: SOCL 215: Quantitative Research Methods (HC): Quantitative Methods

Finding Data

ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) Data Archive
Provides access to an archive of online social science data, training facilities in basic and advanced techniques of quantitative social analysis. Provides a comprehensive list of ICPSR resources and services, information on membership and governance, links to national data archives affiliated with ICPSR, and contact information.
Roper Center Public Opinion Archives (iPOLL)
Find results from US national public opinion surveys (1935-present). Includes public opinion research from 120+ countries. Use this database to find polls from Gallup, Pew, and more.

You can:
- Search iPOLL to find individual survey questions and answers
- Compare public opinion over time
- Find US election exit poll results
- Download full datasets for surveys curated by the Roper Center
Social Explorer
Offers access to reports and interactive maps for the U.S. Census (1790-present), World Development Indicators (1960-2013), and Eurostat (European Union data), among others. A project of Queens College, sponsored by the New York Times and the National Science Foundation.
Statista: The Leading Statistics Portal
Provides access to selected statistics and studies of over 600 industries gathered by market researchers, trade organizations, scientific publications, and government sources from 2007 to the present.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
The 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. (2013-Present)
World Development Indicators (WDI) Online This link opens in a new window
World Development Indicators (WDI) is the primary World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized international sources. It includes more than 1100 indicators on population, income, social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environment, covering 210 countries and 18 regional and income groups. Also includes the International Debt Statistics (IDS) database. Data ranges from 1960-present.

Public Use Data

Social scientists commonly conduct secondary analyses of public use datasets, which are available to the general public.

Philadelphia Data

Philadelphia Data Sources
The Philadelphia Guide has a section on data and statistics of the Philadelphia region.

Data Analysis

How to Analyze Quantitative Data
Brief instructions with helpful examples, by David Ritchie at PSU.
Software Programs for Quantitative Data
Provides short introductions to the main quantitative data analysis software programs (SPSS, STATA, and SAS), with links. Check out the webpages to find support documentation and forums to learn more about how to use these tools.
SPSS Presentation
A slide presentation on how to use SPSS for quantitative analysis.
SPSS: How To Perform Quantitative Data Analyses For Bachelor's Research? 5 Basic Analysis Methods
Quantitative Data Analysis 101
Learn all about quantitative data analysis in plain, easy to understand lingo. Presented by Grad Coach.

Finding Sociology Articles

ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts
Contains scholarly, trade, and magazine articles on social problems, psychological issues, health care, and social services. Geared towards the helping professions.
ProQuest Sociology Database
Find scholarly journal articles, dissertations, magazine articles, and reports in the areas of sociology and social work, including culture and social structure, history and theory of sociology, social psychology, substance abuse, and more. International in scope.
Sociological Abstracts
Find journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and conference papers in the fields of sociology, social work and related disciplines as far back as 1963. Includes Social Services Abstracts journals.
Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on sociology.
Annual Reviews
A searchable collection of critical review articles capturing the current understanding of a topic, including what is well supported, what is controversial, and where further research is needed.