Social Science Data and Software (SSDS) Blog

Scholarship Opportunity for Students at WUSS (Western Users of SAS) 2008 Conference

Announcing the WUSS 2008 Student Scholarship Program

Are you a student who has used SAS® in your research or in a class? Do you work with students using SAS in their coursework or research? Do you know any students who know SAS or who are starting to learn SAS? If you answered yes to any of these questions, don’t miss this scholarship opportunity!

The Western Users of SAS (WUSS) group is offering scholarships for students interested in attending the WUSS 2008 conference on November 5 - 7 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, CA.

There are 10 scholarships available. Each includes paid conference registration fees, up to two half day courses as well as free admission to receptions, breaks and luncheons during the conference.

Travel and accommodations are not covered by the scholarship and are the responsibility of the student.

Why attend WUSS?

* Network with other SAS users and expand your job search.
* Find out how other students are using SAS.
* Expand your SAS knowledge, regardless of your skill level.
* Learn how organizations in diverse industries use SAS.
* Discover the career paths available to SAS users.

For more information about the WUSS 2008 student scholarships, including criteria for scholarship award selection, or to apply online, please click here.

The application deadline is October 1 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone who might be interested in the program.

Elizabeth Ceranowski
SAS Student Programs Manager

From Census Product Update (September 4, 2008): Hot Tip - American Community Survey - A Look Ahead

On Sept. 23, 2008 the Census Bureau will release 2007 ACS social, economic and, housing characteristics, demographic and housing single-year estimates for areas with populations of 65,000 or more, and 2007 Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) single-year data for Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA) with populations of 100,000 or more. The data will consist of:

* Educational attainment
* Industry
* Occupation
* Class of worker
* Journey to work
* Employment status
* Work status
* Veteran status
* Housing
* Households and families
* Marital status
* Migration

The first set of three-year estimates for data collected between 2005 and 2007 will be released in December. These include the first ACS estimates for areas with populations between 20,000 and 64,999.

Current Census Product Update -- Full Issue
http://www.census.gov/mp/www/cpu/index.html

New IES Report from the National Center for Education Statistics: "Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2006"

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2006."

This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of rates for 2006 and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972-2006), including characteristics of dropouts and completers in these years. Report highlights include: The averaged freshman graduation rate (AFGR), which provides an estimate of the percentage of public high school students who graduate with a regular diploma 4 years after starting 9th grade, was 74.7 percent for the class of 2005. Students living in low-income families were approximately four times more likely to drop out of high school between 2005 and 2006 than were students living in high-income families. In October 2006, approximately 3.5 million civilian noninstitutionalized 16- through 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential.

To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008053

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2008-09-01

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

New Additions

2988 Israeli Election Study, 1973
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02988.xml

3573 Guns and Colonists, 1773-1775 [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03573.xml

4514 CBS News/New York Times Presidential Election Poll #2, October 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04514.xml

20366 Understanding Court Culture and Improving Court Performance in 12 Courts in California, Florida, and Minnesota, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20366.xml

21521 Eurobarometer 67.3: Health Care Service, Undeclared Work, EU Relations With Its Neighbor Countries, and Development Aid, May-June 2007
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21521.xml

22625 Organizations Convicted in Federal Criminal Courts, 2007
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22625.xml

22840 Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II): Milwaukee African American Sample, 2005-2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22840.xml

Updates

3401 Substance Abuse Treatment Cost Allocation and Analysis Template (SATCAAT) Study, 1992-1994: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03401.xml

4563 Eurobarometer 63.1: Science and Technology, Social Values, and Services of General Interest, January-February 2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04563.xml

4668 Eurobarometer 62.2: Agricultural Policy, Development Aid, Social Capital, and Information and Communication Technology, November-December 2004
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04668.xml

4669 Eurobarometer 63.2: Radioactive Waste, Transport Services, Farm Animal's Welfare, and Means of Payment, February-March 2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04669.xml

6202 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, May 1993
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06202.xml

8424 National Youth Survey [United States]: Wave II, 1977
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08424.xml

9936 ABC News Women's Issues Poll, July 1992
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09936.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

New IES Report from the National Center for Education Statistics: "Education and Certification Qualifications of Departmentalized Public High School-Level Teachers of Core Subjects: Evidence from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey"

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Education and Certification Qualifications of Departmentalized Public High School-Level Teachers of Core Subjects: Evidence from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey."

This report uses data from the 2003-04 survey to describe various aspects of the match between teachers' majors and current teaching assignments, as well as the match to certification, for public high school-level teachers in the core academic subjects of English, math, science, and social studies.

To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008338

For more information about the content of this report, contact Kerry.Gruber@ed.gov or (202) 502-7349.

QSR News: NVivo 8 is now available in Simplified Chinese and Spanish.

New global landscape for qualitative researchers with language releases

Date: 29 August 2008

NVivo 8 is now available in Simplified Chinese and Spanish. And that’s just the start. Today, QSR International CEO John Owen can reveal that, following on from the Japanese version of NVivo 7 released last year, a new Japanese version of NVivo 8 is due for release within weeks. Additional language versions are also under consideration.

Chinese and Spanish ‘firsts’

While NVivo has always been able to work with data in virtually any language, for the first time you can now switch seamlessly between Spanish, Simplified Chinese and English interfaces and support materials at any time, without affecting your project.

[full announcement at QSR web site]

Roper Center Announcement - Call for Proposals to Add Questions to the 2010 GSS

For the 2010 General Social Survey(GSS) funds are expected from the National Science Foundation(NSF) to support added supplements. Proposals for topics for these NSF-funded modules are solicited from the social science community. The program is described at

Call for Proposals to Add Questions to the 2010 GSS.
http://www.norc.org/NR/rdonlyres/2E75FB22-4D36-474F-AA28-97D9A2C04B6C/998/CallforProposalstoAddQuestionstothe2010GSS.pdf

Please note the submission deadline of October 1, 2008

In addition, the GSS expects to have space available on the survey for modules not funded by NSF. Those who want to fund a paid supplement on the 2010 GSS should consult the document at "Guidelines for Paid Supplements to the GSS."

http://www.norc.org/NR/rdonlyres/2E75FB22-4D36-474F-AA28-97D9A2C04B6C/997/GuidelinesforPaidSupplementstotheGSS.pdf

If you have any questions about either program, please contact Tom W. Smith, GSS Director, smitht@norc.uchicago.edu

Roper Center Data Acquisitions Update, May-June 2008

Stanford University Libraries maintains a membership to the Roper Center and Stanford faculty, staff, and students can now download data directly accessible via Roper Express. For instructions on requesting data not available via Roper Express, click on the "Data Services - Roper" link on our SSDS web site.

The May - June (pdf) update contains:

• National Leadership Index—The National Study of Confidence in Leadership 2007 and 2006 conducted by TSC, a division of Yankelovich, Inc. for Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University/U.S. News & World Report.

• 8 new Kaiser Family Foundation studies conducted from 2007-2008.

• 3 new Newsweek studies conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from March-April 2008.

These notices have been archived on the Roper Center website at:
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/data/past_data_announcements.html

If you have any questions about these data collections please do not hesitate to contact the Roper Center at rcweb@ropercenter.uconn.edu.

American Community Survey Alert, Number 58

(Released August 26, 2008)

U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2007 American Community Survey Data on Income, Poverty, and Earnings

The Census Bureau today released income, poverty, and earnings data from the 2007 American Community Survey (ACS), in conjunction with the Census Bureau's annual release of income, poverty, and health insurance data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey.

These data and general information about today's release may be found at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/news_conferences/012515.html.

Data are again available for the nation, the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, every congressional district and all counties, places, school districts, and metropolitan areas with populations of 65,000 or more.

The Census Bureau's Web site now contains guidance on comparing 2007 ACS data to 2006 ACS data, as well as comparing 2007 ACS data to Census 2000 data. This guidance may be found at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/compACS.htm.

The ACS Web site recently was redesigned to make navigation easier and to help users find the information they need more quickly. Information aboutthe 2007 Data Release can be found at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/index.html.

Income, poverty, and earnings data from the 2007 ACS FTP site may be found at: http://www2.census.gov/acs2007_1yr/prod/.

Information about ACS data products and published geographies may be found at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/users_guide/.

All ACS data from years 2005 through 2007 may be found on the Census
Bureau's American FactFinder: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts=

All of the ACS data products from 1996 through 2004, except Congressional Web Page and Fact Sheets, are archived on the ACS FTP site: http://www2.census.gov/acs/downloads/Core_Tables.

Today’s release also includes updates to our Errata Notes page, which may be found at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/Errata.htm.

A Look Ahead – September 23, 2008 Release of 2007 ACS Social, Economic, Housing, and Demographic Data

*Educational attainment
*Industry
*Occupation
*Class of worker
*Journey to work
*Employment status
*Work status
*Veteran status
*Housing
*Households and families
*Marital status
*Migration

***Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about the American Community Survey,
please call (800) 923-8282 or e-mail cmo.acs@census.gov.

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2008-08-24

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

New Additions

4506 CBS News Monthly Poll #2, January 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04506.xml

4513 CBS News Monthly Poll #5, October 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04513.xml

21188 Impact of Information Security in Academic Institutions on Public Safety and Security in the United States, 2005-2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21188.xml

21961 National Natality Followback Survey, 1964-1969
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21961.xml

22740 Statewide Profile of Abuse of Older Women and the Criminal Justice Response in Rhode Island, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22740.xml

22960 Natality Detail File, 2005 [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22960.xml

Updates

4402 Nang Rong Projects [Thailand]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04402.xml

6292 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, November 1993
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06292.xml

6887 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1992
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06887.xml

8264 Annual Housing Survey, 1979 [United States]: SMSA Files
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08264.xml

8589 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, September 1985
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08589.xml

9017 Annual Housing Survey, 1978 [United States]: SMSA File
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09017.xml

9730 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, 1988
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09730.xml

21600 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health),
1994-2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21600.xml

22626 India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22626.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

Stata book news: A Gentle Introduction to Stata, 2nd Edition

Alan Acock’s A Gentle Introduction to Stata, Second Edition is aimed at new Stata users who want to become proficient in Stata. After reading this introductory text, new users will not only be able to use Stata well but also learn new aspects of Stata easily.

Acock assumes that the user is not familiar with any statistical software. This assumption of a blank slate is central to the structure and contents of the book. Acock starts with the basics; for example, the portion of the book that deals with data management begins with a careful and detailed example of turning survey data on paper into a Stata-ready dataset on the computer. When explaining how to go about basic exploratory statistical procedures, Acock includes notes that should help the reader develop good work habits. This mixture of explaining good Stata habits and good statistical habits continues throughout the book.

[more from Stata's website: A Gentle Introduction to Stata, 2nd Edition]

Introducing the New Semester 6 Month Student License for NVivo 8 & XSight

Students can now purchase a Semester 6 month License directly from Nvivo's website www.qsrinternational.com, NVivo 8 Semester $125 and XSight Semester $95.

From ANES (American National Election Studies) list: An invitation to learn about exciting new research opportunities being offered by ANES

You are cordially invited to attend a public meeting of the American
National Election Studies at the APSA annual meeting in Boston!

We have a variety of new and exciting topics to update you on, including:

• outcomes of the Online Commons research proposals
• up-to-the-minute developments regarding the 2008-2009 Panel Study (which began data collection in January)
• up-to-the-minute developments regarding the 2008 Time Series Study
• information on the data release schedule for both the Panel and Time
Series Study
• an upcoming research conference regarding the use of open-ended measures

We will also report on collaborations with the Department of Homeland
Security, National Longitudinal Surveys, University of Texas, and
University of Washington that will result in rich new content and
analytical opportunities for ANES users.

After the updates will be a session where you are welcome to comment and pose questions of the PIs, Board of Overseers, and staff.

The public meeting is scheduled for 10am on Saturday, August 30th. We have been told that the location is to be the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel, in the Falmouth room, but please be aware there may be a last minute change in room location.

We hope you can be there!

Jon A. Krosnick and Arthur Lupia
ANES Principal Investigators

From Census Product Update - August 22, 2008: Download More Geographies Using Download Center

If you need access to a larger number of geographies than are available through the other parts of American FactFinder, Download Center may be your answer. Here, for a very large numbers of geographies, you can access just a few or even all tables from a particular data file in a zipped, pipe-delimited file. You can then work with the tables in a spreadsheet or other data program. Note that you are not given access to more types of variables, rather, you now just have access to a larger amount of geographies for the available variables. To access this powerful tool, from the Census home page, click American FactFinder, then click Download Center!

Sign Up for the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS)

Don't Forget to Sign Up for the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS) when you choose your classes this upcoming quarter. We bring in distinguished researchers from across the social sciences to provide useful lessons on broadly applicable methods for data collection and analysis.

PoliSci 402 or Comm 310

MAPSS will be held each thursday from 12:15 to 1:30 PM in Bldg 200, Room 124 (History Corner) and Pizza will be served.

This quarter, MAPSS will be focusing on Hierarchical Linear Modeling and we will be working from first steps and theory through best practices. Speakers are still being lined up for the quarter and will be announced soon. As MAPSS is a colloquium, individuals are welcome to attend any lectures of interest regardless of registration (though individuals who do register are expected to attend).

You can also sign up for 3 quarters of MAPSS to get a Graduate Certificate in Social Science Methodology (additional social science methodology courses may be required). The certificate will demonstrate your methodological competence as you search for jobs when leaving Stanford. See the certificate page for more information (http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/cert/index.html).

MAPSS is an interdisciplinary methodology program designed to expose researchers to diverse modes of data collection and analysis from across the social sciences. MAPSS offers a colloquium series, a workshop, a graduate certificate program, and various research resources. If you would like to learn more about the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), please check out our website at mapss.stanford.edu.

Archives

* 2007-2008 Fall colloquium series schedule
* 2006-2007 colloquium series schedule
* 2005-2006 colloquium series schedule

The Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences is a program of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences