What we can do for you
Library Data Service serves as a central point of access to a wide assortment of digital numeric research data files. The collection covers a broad range of subject areas with an emphasis on Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Business, and Economics. Access to the numeric microdata files is restricted to current McMaster University faculty, staff and students for the purposes of teaching, research and private study only.
Microdata
- Microdata is the raw data used to calculate statistics and can be manipulated with software such as SAS or SPSS
- As a member of two major consortia - Statistics Canada's Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) and Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Library Data Service regularly acquires new microdata files.
- The DLI microdata files contain information on Canadian statistics collected from different surveys conducted by Statistics Canada such as National Population Health Survey, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics etc.
- The ICPSR microdata files contain mainly US survey statistics such as the General Social Survey, Current Population Survey, American National Election Study, 2000: Pre- And Post-election Survey etc.
Aggregate Data/Statistics
- Aggregate data consists of facts or figures and is used to prove a point using totals, sums or averages.
- Library Data Service provides access to aggregate data (Canadian, US & International) through the self-serve websites. Please visit our Data/Statistics Collection pages to get access.
Ontario Data Documentation, Extraction Service and Infrastructure <odesi>
Established in 2007, <odesi> (Ontario Data Documentation, Extraction Service, and Infrastructure) is a digital repository for social science data, including polling data. It is a web-based data exploration, extraction, and analysis tool that uses the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) social science data standard.
<odesi> provides researchers the ability to search for survey questions (variables) across thousands of datasets. There are both microdata and aggregate data available, in a range of formats.
