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Web Survey Bibliography

Title Making Use of Online Survey Documentation & Analysis
Author Terwey, M.
Year 2009
Access date 28.10.2009
Abstract

Several sites providing online access to data and/or metadata have come into practice (e.g. ESS/NSD, IQSS Dataverse, ASEP/JDC data bank, ICPSR, CCESD, badason, ZACAT, Statista). In this presentation the online service of SDA (Survey Documentation & Analysis - http://sda.berkeley.edu. ) is focused. This set of programs provides documentation and web-based analysis of survey data. It is maintained by the Computer- assisted Survey Methods Program (CSM) at the University of California, Berkeley.

At this time, SDA is considered from two perspectives, those of a data service manager and of an empirical sociologist. My attention was drawn this site, because it o ered straightforward access to some important data as GSS, American National Election Study, and Census Microdata. The facilities were used for various purposes as investigating metadata, data download, statistical analysis, and nally for the pilot implementation of special surveys into the system (ISSP and ALLBUS). Comparisons across time were done concerning religious beliefs

and social pessimism.

Starting major tests with the integration of ALLBUS 1998 into SDA the facilities of looking into metadata were already rather satisfying, but later on some important improvements could be added (especially text search within a single study and across studies). This improved the relative position SDA formerly had in comparison with some similar systems.

Analysis of data has always been exceptionally quick. The access to the basic statistical procedures is pretty easy even for newcomers with only basic statistical and/or computer knowledge. Helpful documentation on statistics is online. Moreover, interested users are not restricted to the given original data, but may create and even store their own user-de ned variables. New highlights at SDA concern safeguarding against disclosure risks and o ering complex standard errors in some statistical analysis, which are two quite relevant implications for elaborate statistical analyses.

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Conference homepage (abstract)

Year of publication2009
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
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Web survey bibliography - European survey research associaton conference 2009, ESRA, Warsaw (31)