Understanding Data vs Summary Statistics
ICPSR studies contain data rather than summary statistics. Not sure which you need?
Data are: (most times)
- machine-readable,
- analyzed,
- plottable lists or collections of information
- able to be manipulated and analyzed directly, offering flexible analysis
Statistics are: (most times)
- tables, charts, graphs, reported numbers and percentages
- results of data analysis, giving the context of analysis and researcher interpretation
Do you need …
- A quick number or analysis and/or summary? You may not need data but summary statistics. Consider looking outside of ICPSR.
- Data to analyze, answering questions like “how many,” “how much,” and so forth? Data is what you need.
- Still not sure what you need? Check out the the decision tree below to help you decide if you need data or summary statistics.