Among VCU's Libraries vast holdings is the Social Science Electronic Data Library. This database includes more than 680 health and social science datasets from more than 285 studies all chosen by an expert panel from Sociometrics for their technical quality, substantive quality, policy relevance and potential for secondary data analysis.

Nine topical data archives are in the collection: The American Family, Child Well-Being and Poverty, Maternal Drug Abuse, HIV/AIDS and STI, Adolescent Pregnancy and Pregnancy Prevention, Aging, Disability in the U.S., Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Contextual.

Each data set has been processed and documented in a standard way that facilitates use. Each dataset contains raw data files, SPSS & SAS command files, SPSS portable and SAS transport files, data dictionaries, frequencies files, detailed user's guides and instruments where available. You may search for variables within and across studies by topic, type or keyword(s).

Researcher can use SSEDL to analyze quality secondary data for coursework or research.

Faculty will find well-documented data for research and grant writing, teaching research design and methods, including the use of statistical software, and integrating current research into lectures and assignments.

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By Margaret Henderson, director of research data management