ICPSR: Find and Use Data

Find Data

Search

You can find data by via the ICPSR faceted search interface.You can also browse data by topics, series, thematic collections, data-related publications, and subject terms. Use the ICPSR Thesaurus to identify controlled vocabulary to refine your search.

You do not need to be logged in to your MyData account to search for data or download data documentation.

Documentation and Codebook

The documentation and codebook associated with the data contains detailed information that will help you decide if the data fits your purpose and how to use it. Read these before you download the data.

Online Analysis

Social Science Variable Database

The Social Science Variables Database (SSVD) enables ICPSR users to examine and compare variables and questions across studies or series. The SSVD currently includes over 5 million variables, representing about 76% of ICPSR's holdings that have quantitative data described in statistical syntax.

Download Data

MyData Account

You must be logged into your MyData account to download members-only data. Learn how to create or reauthorize your MyData account.

Data Formats

ICPSR distribute data files in eight data formats: three plain text formats (column-delimited ASCII, comma-delimited ASCII, and tab-delimited ASCII), two SAS formats (SAS XPORT and CPORT files), two SPSS formats (SPSS SAV and portable files), and the single Stata data format. Most data files are available in a plain text format, and many data files more than one format.

Download

Click on the link for the files you want to download. Data files will download as ZIP files and must be uncompressed on your computer for use. Setup files should be edited to contain the full pathname of the downloaded file.