What is Social Science Data?

What is Social Science Data?

Social Science Data Files are primary source materials encompassing raw data files and textual or electronic format documentation, normally called codebooks. Data files are not eye-readable.  A raw data file is composed of characters or numbers on which mathematical operations are carried out using a statistical program (for example, using SPSS, SAS, or STATA), on a computer (such as your personal computer, or one of the campus computer center facilities), and interpreting the results of statistical processing.  If you printed out a raw data file, it would look like this: [need link to sample raw data].



Below is a visual on how data is incorporated into the research process.