Explore Society with Social Data

Tonight we’ll be meeting to talk about two important collections of survey data, The General Social Survey (GSS) and a broad collection of integrated survey datasets, IPUMS.org. Additionally, we’ll be meeting with David Lynn, founder of Mission Driven Finance, to talk about his volunteer data project to analyze business lending to minorities in San Diego county.

In the main meeting, I’ll show how to use the web-analysis tools for the GSS and IPUMS. You can visit those sites now to explore a bit, and it would be worthwhile for you to create an account before the meeting. Here are the important URLs:

We’ll aso talk about some of the details of how surveys are constructed and how to use them. When we’re finished, you’ll be ready to explore important social questions, such as how people’s optimism for the future varies according to home many children they have, or whether cat owners are smarter than dog owners. ( Seriously, that’s in the GSS! )

Hope to see you tonight.