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About the Bibliography of Data-related Literature

August 2008

Introduction

Welcome to the ICPSR Bibliography of Data-related Literature, a searchable database that contains over 45,000 citations of known published and unpublished works resulting from analyses of data held in the ICPSR archive. Developed with support from the National Science Foundation (SES-9977984), the Bibliography represents over 40 years of scholarship in the quantitative social sciences, extending from the inception of ICPSR in 1962 to the present.

In most cases, analyses of numeric data formed the foundation for the literature, although in some cases the data played a less prominent role in supporting the research. The literature includes journal articles, books, book chapters, government and agency reports, working papers, dissertations, conference papers, meeting presentations, unpublished manuscripts, magazine and newspaper articles, and audiovisual materials.

This is an ongoing project that is updated regularly. Additions and corrections are welcome. If you have published work that is based on ICPSR data, please send us the citation using our online Bibliography Citation Submission form.

Please send comments or questions via our Bibliography Comments form.

How to Use the Bibliography

The Bibliography of Data-related Literature is actually a collection of smaller bibliographies based on individual studies archived at ICPSR. It can be accessed through two avenues on the ICPSR Web site:

  1. To find literature based on a particular study, search for that study using the search engine on our Data page. On the data search results page (below the study title) and at the top of each study description is a link called "Related Literature". This links to a list of publications based on that study and replaces the former ICPSR field called "Related publications".

  2. The Bibliography is also a searchable database. From the Bibliography Home page, a number of options are available: Search for authors, titles, source titles (e.g. journal, book, or conference titles), or publishers (includes sponsoring agencies and organizations), Browse by Author, or Browse by Journal Title. Advanced Search allows more complex searching of the citations, using Boolean search operators (and/or/not) for field specific searches and limiting searches to particular types of publications, such as Conference Proceedings only. On the search results pages, under each citation, is a link to related data in the ICPSR archive. These are the data collections used by the authors to generate their findings. When a publication is freely available online, the citation includes a link to that document.

Purpose, Goal, Outcomes

The purpose of this project is to facilitate the use of the ICPSR holdings by providing a means to investigate previous research based on ICPSR data. Instructors often direct students to begin data-related research projects by reading some of the major works based on the data. Advanced researchers also find reading the existing literature to be an effective way to begin using a dataset. Reporters and policymakers looking for processed statistics look for reports explaining particular studies. Principal investigators and funding agencies often want to track how data are used after they are deposited.

The Bibliography makes it possible to:

  • Identify much of the research that has already been undertaken using a given ICPSR dataset
  • Replicate analyses in order to understand, evaluate, and build upon others' findings
  • Determine the usage patterns of data resources
  • Investigate the life cycle of data and the types of analyses undertaken
  • Learn more about methodological issues, some of which are covered solely in the published literature
  • Understand the limitations as well as the research potential of the data, by seeing the data in use and reading the observations and findings of other researchers
  • Avoid accidentally duplicating, in whole or in part, an analysis that has already been done
  • Identify cross-disciplinary implications and uses of the data

Our goal is to collect accurate citations of publications making reference to data archived and distributed by ICPSR. The outcomes of the project, when it is complete, will include:

  1. Enhanced study descriptions with the addition of a comprehensive list of publications related to each dataset
  2. An online database and bibliographic list of works that reference ICPSR data
  3. Mechanisms for collecting, organizing, and displaying citations
  4. A systematic plan to gather citations on an ongoing basis

While items 1 and 2 have already been accomplished, we continue to add to the citations in the database. The vehicles for collecting, organizing, and displaying citations are functioning, and we are in the process of developing more effective database mechanisms for managing the Bibliography.

Project Methodology

When this project began in July 2000, we identified its goals and developed a plan to systematically find and gather citations. This task involved developing a collection policy, selecting databases and print publications to search and/or browse, selecting a method for collecting and organizing citations, determining search strategies, and developing mechanisms for providing online access to the citations.

Collection Policy

In developing the collection policy, it was helpful to think about what the uses of the collection would be. Primarily, this bibliographic collection is intended to allow researchers to trace uses of data for a variety of purposes. It is also meant to enable researchers to replicate others' findings and to demonstrate to funding agencies the varied uses of data. With these considerations in mind, we decided to capture citations to publications that met at least one of the following criteria:

  1. The resource used data in the ICPSR holdings as the primary data source.
  2. The resource used ICPSR data in a comparison with the primary dataset investigated.
  3. The resource was "about" an ICPSR dataset or study series. That is, the publication described the data, data collection procedures, or changes to a study series; compared it to other studies; or critiqued the data, survey questions, or collection process.

Since some datasets are available from multiple archives or data providers and we could not always verify that the source of the data used was ICPSR, we made the determination that ICPSR need not be the actual source.

References to all types of literature and media are being collected. Thus far, the collection includes journal articles, books, book chapters, government and agency reports, working papers, dissertations, conference papers, meeting presentations, unpublished manuscripts, audiovisual materials, and electronic resources.

Selecting Search Resources

Our primary resource for searching has been the University of Michigan (UM) Libraries Networked Electronic Resources. This online collection is available to UM affiliates and includes a comprehensive selection of full-text databases and index and abstract services in the social sciences and other disciplines. We have made use of the UM Libraries' excellent collection of print publications and its inter-library loan service to browse materials not available online. We have also conducted Internet searches for various studies and publications.

Collecting and Organizing Citations

In order to collect and organize citations, we decided to purchase database software that was specifically designed for collecting bibliographic citations. Our primary selection criteria included:

  • Multiple, simultaneous user capability, either via the Internet or an internal network
  • Easy installation and start-up
  • Effective sorting and searching mechanisms
  • Ability to display citations in a Web-based format
  • User-friendly interface
  • Affordable price

After comparing several options, we selected Biblioscape, which was the only software that allowed multiple simultaneous users and met the other requisites.

Search Strategies

ICPSR was established in 1962 and presently archives over 5,000 studies in the social and behavioral sciences, covering a broad array of topics including: elections, education, mental health, criminal justice, aging, gender, race, religion, medical care, war, family, and geography. Given the 40-year time period and the large number of datasets and topics involved, the task of locating related publications was monumental, and we realized at the outset that we could never locate every single publication based on ICPSR data. Yet we wanted to cast a wide enough net to capture as many relevant citations as possible during the allotted three-year grant period. This project involved developing effective search strategies to strike a balance between comprehensiveness and precision. It also meant setting priorities in selecting search resources and formulating search queries.

We decided to use a two-pronged approach, whereby we would search online resources for specific study titles and also identify a list of core journals to browse, either in print or electronic format, for references to any ICPSR dataset. Using the resources available through UM Libraries, we began searching online databases and putting together a list of core journals in subject areas relevant to ICPSR data. Below is a summary of the searches that have been conducted thus far and lists of the electronic and print resources searched and browsed.

Summary of Searches Conducted

Initial searches:
In order to familiarize ourselves with the content and search capabilities of the available online citation, abstract, and full-text resources, we began searching for the following terms/phrases:

  • icpsr
  • icpr
  • interuniversity consortium for political
  • inter-university consortium for political

The following databases were searched (the number of hits is in parentheses):

  • Alt-Health Watch (3)
  • Cambridge University Press Online Journals (26)
  • Columbia International Affairs Online (11)
  • Congressional Universe (13)
  • Contemporary Women's Issues (3)
  • Ethnic Newswatch (1)
  • Full-Text (13)
  • Gender Watch (7)
  • Infotrac Gold: Health Reference Center (27)
  • Infotrac Gold: General Reference Center (211)
  • Highwire Press Journals (15)
  • JSTOR (1,456)
  • Legaltrac (401)
  • New York Times (0)
  • Oxford University Press Online Journals (3)
  • Proquest Research Library (1,044)
  • Proquest ABI Inform (214)
  • Proquest Newspapers (4)
  • Science Direct (32)
  • Springer-LINK (5)
  • Web SPIRS (all available databases) (123)

Most of these searches yielded relevant hits, and we thus began the process of building the collection. Using the results of these searches, as well as recommendations from ICPSR staff, we began to identify the core journals that publish articles based on ICPSR data.

Study Titles:
We searched for the titles, partial titles, and variant titles of studies in the ICPSR archive. The databases searched are described below. We are using spreadsheets to record the details of each title search, including study titles, specific databases searched, dates searched, search queries, and number of hits. To date, we have searched for thousands of titles.

P.I. names:
Authors do not always include the titles of datasets used in published works, or they may use a variation of the ICPSR title. We made every attempt to formulate queries that would account for variant versions of study titles. However, we were not always successful due to limitations of database search mechanisms, spelling errors, and the mere absence of a reference to the name of the dataset used in a published work. Therefore, in cases where no hits were generated when searching for variations of a study title, the P.I. names were searched for in the relevant databases. This occasionally yielded positive results.

Online Databases Searched

The following online databases are being searched for a variety of study titles. Databases were selected based on the relevancy of their contents to the subject and time period of the study being searched. Therefore, every database is not searched for each study. Databases are listed by order of the number of citations found.

  • Proquest (full-text and abstracts)
  • Medline (citations, abstracts, and full-text)
  • Sociofile (citations and abstracts)
  • PsycInfo (citations and abstracts)
  • ERIC (Educational Resources Information Centers) (citations and abstracts)
  • Dissertation Abstracts (citations and abstracts, partial full-text)
  • EconLit (citations and abstracts)
  • Criminal Justice Abstracts (citations and abstracts)
  • Ageline (citations and abstracts)
  • InfoTrac General Reference (citations and full-text)
  • Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (CSA) (citations and abstracts)
  • MD Consult (full-text)
  • International Political Science Abstracts (citations and abstracts)
  • WorldCat
  • ScienceDirect (full-text and abstracts)
  • America: History and Life (citations and abstracts)
  • ABI/INFORM Global (citations, abstracts, and full-text)
  • Web of Knowledge/ISI Citations Indexes (citations)
  • National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database (citations and abstracts, mostly government reports)
  • Lexis Nexis (citations and full-text)
  • WILS (citations)
  • Cambridge University Press Online Journals (full-text)
  • Social Work Abstracts (citations and abstracts)
  • Highwire Press Journals (full-text)
  • Historical Abstracts (citations and abstracts)
  • Social Sciences Abstracts (citations and abstracts)
  • Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) (full-text)
  • PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service) (citations and abstracts)
  • ATLAS (American Theological Library Association Serials) (citations and abstracts)
  • Congressional Universe (full-text)
  • InfoTrac Health (citations and full-text)
  • Ethnic Newswatch (full-text)
  • Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Science Database (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) (citations and abstracts)
  • ISI Proceedings (citations and abstracts)
  • Information on Drugs and Alcohol (IDA) (citations and abstracts)
  • Periodicals Contents Index (PCI) (full-text)
  • PapersFirst (citations)
  • ProceedingsFirst (citations and tables of contents)
  • Black Studies Database (citations)
  • LegalTrac (citations and full-text)
  • Alt-HealthWatch (full-text)
  • Contemporary Women's Issues (citations and abstracts)
  • GenderWatch (full-text)

Journals Browsed

We identified a list of core journals in the fields of political and social science, health care, and criminal justice, based on their known relevancy. We also analyzed the references we found through our online searches in order to identify those that contained the most articles based on ICPSR data. We began browsing through articles in the print and online versions of these core journals, looking for references to ICPSR data. From 1974-1984, ICPSR staff had browsed through a number of core journals in the political and social sciences to capture citations to ICPSR data-related articles. For our search, we are omitting those journals in that time period since those citations have already been included in the Bibliography. We are making extensive use of full-text databases for browsing electronic versions of these journals. In particular, we've used JSTOR and Proquest, also ScienceDirect and Periodicals Contents Index (PCI) Full Text. Otherwise, we are browsing the print versions of these journals.

  • Academy of Management Journal (1994-1996)
  • Academy of Management Review (1992-1996)
  • Administrative Science Quarterly (1991-1998)
  • American Behavioral Scientist (1973-1984)
  • American Historical Review (1966-1999)
  • American Journal of Criminal Law (1975-1985)
  • American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (2002-2004)
  • American Journal of Political Science (1973-2000)
  • American Journal of Psychology (1991-1996)
  • American Journal of Sociology (1963-January 2003)
  • American Political Science Review (1963-1998)
  • American Politics Quarterly (through 1996)
  • American Quarterly (1971-2002)
  • American Sociological Review (1963-April 2003)
  • Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (1976)
  • Annual Review of Sociology (1975-1996)
  • Asian Survey (1996-1997)
  • Behavioral Sciences and the Law (2003-2004)
  • British Journal of Criminology (1995-1996, 2000-July 2004)
  • British Journal of Political Science (through 1996)
  • British Journal of Sociology (1963-1996)
  • Canadian Journal of Criminology (2002-2004)
  • Comparative Political Studies (1973-1984)
  • Comparative Politics (1968-1996)
  • Comparative Studies in Society and History (1963-1969; 1989-1996)
  • Crime and Delinquency (1994-July 2006)
  • Crime and Justice (1979-2004)
  • Crime, Law and Social Change (1997, 2000, 2003-2004)
  • Criminal Justice and Behavior (1979-2004)
  • Criminal Justice Review (1976-2004)
  • Criminology (through May 2006)
  • Criminology and Public Policy (2001-May 2006)
  • Demography (1995-August 2005)
  • Economic History Review (1981-1996)
  • Electoral Studies (through 1997)
  • European Journal of Political Research (1974-1984)
  • European Sociological Review (1985-1997)
  • Family Coordinator (1968-1979)
  • Family Relations (1980-2002)
  • Gender and Society (1987-1999)
  • The Gerontologist (1974-1986)
  • Historical Methods (through 1997; Winter & Summer 2003; Winter 2004)
  • History of Education Quarterly (1991-1996)
  • History Teacher (1997-1999)
  • Homicide Studies(through August 2006)
  • Industrial and Labor Relations Review (through 2001)
  • International Affairs (1992-1996)
  • International Journal of African Historical Studies(1996-1999)
  • International Journal of Middle East Studies(1994-1997)
  • International Organization (1963-1996; 1998-2002)
  • International Security (1983-1997)
  • International Studies Quarterly (through 2000)
  • Journal of African History (1994-1997)
  • Journal of American History (1964-1998)
  • Journal of Applied Econometrics (1986-1998)
  • Journal of Black Studies (1970-1999)
  • Journal of British Studies (1994-1997)
  • Journal of Conflict Resolution (through Aug 2003)
  • Journal of Contemporary History (1996-1999)
  • Journal of Criminal Justice (1995-MayJune 2006)
  • Journal of Drug Issues (Summer 1995-Spring 2004)
  • Journal of Economic Perspectives (Summer 1987-Spring 1988)
  • Journal of Family Issues (through 1995)
  • Journal of Health and Social Behavior (1970-June 2003)
  • Journal of Human Resources (1966-Spring 2006)
  • Journal of Interdisciplinary History (1970-1997)
  • Journal of Marriage and the Family (through May 2003)
  • Journal of Military History (1996-1999)
  • Journal of Modern African Studies (1993-1997)
  • Journal of Modern History (1975-1976, 1996-1999)
  • Journal of Negro History (1975-1976, 1996-1999)
  • Journal of Palestine Studies (1995-1998)
  • Journal of Peace Research (through 1999)
  • Journal of Political Economy (1995-1996)
  • Journal of Politics (1963-May 2001)
  • Journal of Public Policy (1981-1982)
  • Journal of Quantitative Criminology (1985-March 2006)
  • Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency (1988-August 2006)
  • Journal of Social Issues (1994)
  • Journal of Southern African History (1995-1999)
  • Journal of Southern History (1988-1997)
  • Journal of the History of Ideas (2000-2002)
  • Journal(s) of Gerontology (through 1993)
  • Justice Quarterly (1984-June 2006)
  • Law and Society Review (1996-2002)
  • Legislative Studies Quarterly (1976-1997)
  • Mershon International Studies Review (1994-1997)
  • Middle East Report (1995-1997)
  • Midwest Journal of Political Science (1968-1972)
  • Modern China (1996-1999)
  • New England Quarterly (1996-1999)
  • NIJ Journal (November 2003)
  • Past and Present (1994-1997)
  • Police Studies/Policing (1995-2004)
  • Policy Studies Journal (through 1994)
  • Political Behavior (1979-1997)
  • Political Psychology (1981-1982)
  • Political Research Quarterly (through 1999)
  • Political Science Quarterly (1969-1997)
  • Political Theory (1997-1999)
  • Polity (1974-1984)
  • PS, Political Science and Politics (through 1999)
  • Public Opinion Quarterly (1964-1999; Summer 2003)
  • Quarterly Journal of Economics (1995-1996)
  • Renaissance Quarterly (1998-1999)
  • Reviews in American History (2000-2002)
  • Russian Review (1995-1997)
  • Sixteenth Century Journal (1995-1997)
  • Social Forces (through June 2003)
  • Social Psychology (1978)
  • Social Psychology Quarterly (1979-June 2003)
  • Social Science History (1977-Winter 2004)
  • Social Science Quarterly (through 2001)
  • Sociological Forum (1986-June 2003)
  • Sociological Methodology (1969-2002)
  • Sociological Theory (1993-1997)
  • Sociology of Education (1964-April 2003)
  • Sociology of Work and Occupations (all)
  • Sociometry (1975-1977)
  • Speculum (1995-1997)
  • Theory and Society (1993-1997)
  • Urban Affairs Quarterly (all)
  • Urban Affairs Review (through 2000)
  • Victimology (1984-1993)
  • Violence Against Women (1995, 1999-2004)
  • Western Political Quarterly (all)
  • William and Mary Quarterly (1997-2000)
  • World Politics (1965-2002)

Other Citation Sources

Citations were gathered from other sources as well. When a dataset is deposited with ICPSR, the Principal Investigator is asked to submit citations of publications based on the data. Since 1962, several thousand citations have been submitted in this way. Similarly, researchers requesting ICPSR data are asked to submit copies of work they publish based on that data. Government agencies usually submit a list of reports and other publications related to the data they deposit. These references were previously included in the "related publications" field of study descriptions and have been added to the Bibliography database.

In addition, staff of many of the large ongoing data collections in the social sciences maintain their own bibliographies of works related to their data. We conducted Web searches for major study titles using Google and found a number of these bibliographies, most of which have been included in the Bibliography. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest-Old (AHEAD), and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) contributed their citations in a tagged format for inclusion in the ICPSR Bibliography. Smaller online bibliographies were added manually, such as the World Values Survey bibliography. We have provided links to larger bibliographies that are not available in tagged or delimited format and are too large to manually input, such as those for the General Social Survey and the National Longitudinal Surveys.

We also stumbled upon many citations serendipitously. While browsing articles for references to ICPSR data, we often came upon references to other publications that used ICPSR data. In the process of conducting searches or browsing journals, we occasionally discovered bibliographies in books, journals, codebooks, and other publications. Some bibliographies were brought to our attention by researchers and librarians. All of these citations have been included in the database.

Online Access

We originally collected citations in Biblioscape, a bibliographic database application. In order to link them to the ICPSR Web site, the references were exported from Biblioscape in a delimited format, then reorganized using perl scripts and imported into Oracle tables, from which they are displayed on the ICPSR site. We now enter and manage all the citations in Oracle, using a web-based data entry, management, and reporting tool developed at ICPSR.

We created search interfaces and displays to enable users to locate citations by linking through dataset descriptions or by conducting searches for specific publications. Enhanced search, display, and navigation tools are currently being developed.

Direct links to full-text articles and local library resources are now available to ICPSR Direct members using the Bibliography. Users at institutions that have signed up for this service see an additional link underneath each journal article citation ("Check full-text availability"). This link takes the user to the full-text of the article if it is available at their local institution, and to other local library services in case the article is not available digitally. These links are made possible using OpenURL technology. To sign up for OpenURL linking, the Official Representative at an ICPSR Direct member institution must send the required information to ICPSR using the online Full-Text Linking Information form.

Exporting Citations

Exporting individual citations is now possible. Underneath each ICPSR citation, there is an "Export citation" link. Clicking the link lets a user export directly into reference management software like EndNote or online tools like Zotero (a free extension to the Internet browser, Firefox).

The Bibliography's citations are exported in RIS file format, a tagged format for expressing bibliographic citations. It is compatible with most reference management software. For advice about exporting ICPSR's RIS-formatted citations, users can click the "information" button next to the citations export link. Users should check their reference software for specific instructions on importing citations in RIS format.

Conclusion

We have only begun to understand the uses of this collection and anticipate that researchers will discover further applications as it continues to grow. We look to developing standards for citing data as a means to facilitate the process of identifying works based on social science data. Our hope is that the existence of the Bibliography itself will inspire researchers to notify us when they use data acquired from ICPSR. These factors, combined with ongoing searches of online and print resources, will continue to expand this valuable social science research tool.

Appendix: Project Contributors

Creating this bibliography and making it accessible is a collaborative task involving many people who have contributed in a variety of ways. The following people in particular have assisted in this task:

  • Jeri Schneider, Librarian, Project Manager
  • Mary Vardigan, Director, ICPSR Collection Delivery Department
  • ICPSR Computer Network Support staff, programmers, and webmasters: Bryan Beecher, Jon Brode, Wendi Fornoff, Laurie Howland, Peter Joftis, Vicki Neff, Matthew Richardson
  • Other current and former ICPSR staff: Erik Austin, Elizabeth Bonner, Linda Brown, Pamela Brown, Corey Colyer, Joyce French, Amy Fuhrman, Alison Goldberg, John Gray, Chris Greene, Bree Gunter, Sarah Harrison, Hank Heitowit, Sue Hodge, Sanda Ionescu, Leah Kasper, Shova KC, Sally Kiser, Emily Klancher, Kaye Marz, Jim McNally, Elizabeth Moss, Bonnie Murray, Ruth Shamraj, Shannon Stagman, Janet Stamatel, Karen Sullivan, Ken Sylvester
  • University of Michigan Graduate Library staff: Scott Dennis, Joanne Dionne, Rebecca Dunkle, Darlene Nichols
  • University of Michigan Population Studies Center Library staff
  • National Opinion Research Center (NORC): Tom Smith, Jennifer Berktold
  • Camille Ward, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, Panel Study of Income Dynamics
  • Heather Hewett, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, Health and Retirement Study/Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old
  • Dan Tsang, Librarian, University of California

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