Search and Compare Variables

Search Tips:

  • Enter words or strings that are likely to appear in a variable name, label, question, and value labels:
    Presidential election will return variables dealing with all presidential elections
    Presidential election Obama will return only variables dealing with the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections
  • Use quotes to search for specific phrases: "life satisfaction" "minority rights" "community programs"
  • Use a minus sign (-) to exclude results: "Presidential debate" -"Bill Clinton" will eliminate the debates from 1992 and 1996 in which Clinton participated
  • A Boolean “and” is implied in the search.
  • The search automatically does stemming; there’s no need to type in an asterisk. It’s also case-insensitive.

Search for Variables Across Studies Using the Social Science Variables Database (SSVD)

Results include variables where your search term appears in the variable name, label, question text (when present), or value labels. Each result contains a link back to the study from which the variable is drawn.

Note: Not all of the studies in the DSDR catalog include variable-level documentation, and some use abbreviations that may affect search results. The SSVD also includes variables from select quantitative studies available from non-ICPSR sources to help broarden data discovery.

For a more comprehensive search, use the main data search, which covers all documentation, including variable descriptions.

Comparing Variables

Select checkboxes, and then select “Compare” from the Actions button. This will take you to a screen where you can compare the details of the variables you chose.