Recommended eBooks
Big Data in Psychological Research by ISBN: 1433831678Publication Date: 2020-07-14Technological advances have led to an abundance of widely available data on every aspect of life today. Psychologists today have more information than ever before on human cognition, emotion, attitudes, and behavior. Big Data in Psychological Research addresses the opportunities and challenges that this data presents to psychological researchers. This edited collection provides an overview of theoretical approaches to the utility and purpose of big data, approaches to research design and analysis, collection methods, applications, limitations, best practice recommendations, and key issues related to privacy, security, and ethical concerns that are essential to understand for anyone working with big data. The book also discusses potential future research directions aimed at improving the quality and interpretation of big data projects, as well as the training and evaluation of psychological science teams that conduct research using big data.
Recommended Reference Databases
- SAGE Data This link opens in a new windowExplore a vast collection of US and international statistics in Data Planet Statistical Datasets. With this dynamic tool, you can scan and search the contents of billions of datasets, compare and contrast variables of interest, and create customized views in tables, maps, rankings, and charts. Views also include descriptive summaries of the datasets and data sources. Datasets cover a wide range of subjects – including business, finance, banking, economics, sociology, political science, demography, agriculture, education, international studies, criminal justice, housing and construction, labor and employment, energy resources and industries, and more. Sources include public, private/commercial, and nongovernmental organizations.
- National Center for Health Statistics This link opens in a new windowThe National Center for Health Statistics is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, which provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the public health of the American people.
- National Center for Health Statistics: Fast Stats A to Z This link opens in a new windowFastStats provides quick access to statistics on topics of public health importance, organized alphabetically. Links are provided to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related web pages. Includes free full-text PDF chapters and articles.
- openICPSR This link opens in a new windowA service of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), openICPSR is a self-publishing repository for social, behavioral, and health sciences research data. openICPSR is particularly well-suited for the deposit of replication data sets for researchers who need to publish their raw data associated with a journal article so that other researchers can replicate their findings.
- SAGE Research Methods This link opens in a new window
SAGE Research Methods is a research methods tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. SAGE Research Methods links over 175,000 pages of SAGE’s renowned book, journal and reference content with truly advanced search and discovery tools.
- Statistical Abstracts of the United States Online This link opens in a new window
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. It is the first place to look for all statistical queries about any aspect of the United States. Starting with the year 2013, this database (maintained and updated by ProQuest) replaces the Census Bureau publication, the Statistical Abstract of the United States, which was published from 1878-2012.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive This link opens in a new windowThe Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) provides public use data files and documentation related to collection, analysis, and dissemination of behavioral health data. Data sets can be downloaded in variety of formats, including SAS, SPSS, Stata, etc.
More Resources on the Web
- APA Links to Data Sets and Repositories From the American Psychological Society, a wealth of shared data are available for use in psychological science research. These data span a wide variety of topics.
- CDC Data & Statistics Popular tools and topics from the Centers for Disease Control.
- Databrary Databrary is a restricted access data library that is specialized for storing, streaming, and sharing video and audio recordings collected as research data or documentation. Databrary supports sharing of many types of research data and documentation beyond video and audio.
- Neuroscience Information Framework NIF maintains the largest searchable collection of neuroscience data, the largest catalog of biomedical resources, and the largest ontology for neuroscience on the web.
How to Cite Data and Statistics
Data requires citations for the same reasons journal articles and other types of publications require citations: to acknowledge the original author/producer and to help other researchers find the resource.
Some style manuals provide instructions for the citation of data, and selected examples are listed below. If the style manual you are using does not address data citations, you can follow these general rules below. Be sure to follow the general citation format for the style manual your professor has asked you to use. It is always better to provide more information about a resource rather than less!
These are the citation elements you need to consider when building a data citation:
Author: Who is the creator of the data set? This can be an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization.
Title: What name is the data set called, or what is the name of the study?
Edition or Version: Is there a version or edition number associated with the data set?
Date: What year was the data set published? When was the data set posted online?
Editor: Is there a person or team responsible for compiling or editing the data set?
Publisher and/or Distributor: What entity is responsible for producing and/or distributing the data set? Also, is there a physical location associated with the publisher?
In some cases, the publisher of a data set is different than how we think of the publisher of a book. A data set can have both a producer and a distributor.
The producer is the organization that sponsored the author’s research and/or the organization that made the creation of the data set possible, such as codifying and digitizing the data.
The distributor is the organization that makes the data set available for downloading and use.
You may need to distinguish the producer and the distributor in a citation by adding explanatory brackets, e.g., [producer] and [distributor].
APA does not require listing the publisher if an electronic retrieval location is available. However, you may consider including the most complete citation information possible and retaining publisher information even in the case of electronic resources.
Material Designation: What type of file is the data set?
For example, is it on CD-ROM or online?
This may or may not be a required field depending on the style manual. Often this information is added in explanatory brackets, e.g. [computer file].
Electronic Location or Identifier: What web address is the data set available at? Is there a persistent identifier available?
If a DOI or other persistent identifier is associated with the data set it should be used in place of the URL.