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Data Visualization Tools

Search Tips

Search for data using ICPSR's main data search search interface and narrow down results by using the search filters on the left-hand side of the results page. You can also browse data by topic, series, thematic data collections, subject terms or other fields. You do not have to be logged in to search or to download study documentation such as the study codebook.

Search tips:

  • Use quotation marks to search for a phrase (ex: "white collar")
  • Combination searching (using "and" to combine two or more words together to narrow your search) is automatic (ex. "white collar" and race)
  • Use the minus sign to eliminate terms from your search (ex: "white collar crime" -fraud)
  • Stemming - use asterisk* to search for different endings of the same word (ex: fraud* will include the words fraud, fraudulent, fraudster, etc.)

Variables Database

You can search and compare specific variables and questions across various studies. The Social Sciences Variables Database (SSVD) allows the user to search through approximately 76% of the studies included in ICPSR. The SSVD does not search the entire collection. 

Search the SSVD by keyword or browse:

Restricted Data

The majority of ICPSR data holdings are public-use with no access restrictions and ICPSR ensures respondent confidentiality within public-use versions of its datasets. Sometimes the protective measures taken to reduce disclosure risk would significantly degrade the research potential of the data. In these cases, ICPSR provides access to restricted use versions that retain confidential data by imposing stringent requirements for accessing them.

Review the Accessing Restricted Data at ICPSR to learn to identify restricted use studies, and how to apply for access.