The Contextual Data Archive (CDA)
To facilitate access to the best contextual data, Sociometrics has developed a Contextual Data Archive. By contextual data we mean data that describe the population, social, and economic characteristics of geographic areas, from census tracts to states, in which people reside or work. The contextual data archive consists of a series of files, each organized around a different geographic unit of analysis (such as census tracts, school districts, counties, states, etc.) Each file contains variables drawn from various sources, but having one common geographic unit of analysis. Additionally, the archive contains a set of abstracts of documents and publications on the use of contextual data, available in both machine-readable and printed formats. The collection emphasizes both research reports of analyses using contextual data and methodological papers that address the methods and limitations of contextual data analysis. Emphasis is given to materials that are exemplary in their use of contextual data or in their treatment of key methodological issues in contextual analysis Support for this project was provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
To view more information on each individual data set or the comprehensive archive, select one of the titles below.
| Archive Name | Data Set Number | Title of Data Set |
|---|---|---|
| CDA | A1-A2 | Enumeration Districts, 1970, 1980 |
| CDA | B1-B4 | Census Tracts/BNAs, 1970, 1980, 1990 |
| CDA | D1-D3 | Five-digit Zip Codes, 1970, 1980, 1990 |
| CDA | F1-F3 | Minor Civil Division/CCDs, 1970, 1980, 1990 |
| CDA | G1-G2 | School Districts, 1990 |
| CDA | H1-H3 | Places (discrete settlements), 1970, 1980, 1990 |
| CDA | I1 | Cities, 1990 |
| CDA | J1-J5 | Counties, 1970-1995 |
| CDA | K1-K2 | Labor Market Areas, 1970, 1980 |
| CDA | L1-L2 | State Economic Areas, 1970, 1980 |
| CDA | M1-M3 | Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 1970, 1980, 1990 |
| CDA | N1-N2 | Economic Sub-Regions, 1970, 1980 |
| CDA | P1-P7 | States, 1970-1995 |
| CDA | Comprehensive | Contextual Data Archive- Comprehensive Archive |
| CDA | Literature Database | Contextual Data Archive- Literature Database |
Go to: Standard Data Archive Product Features.
Download the README file for the data sets.
Search & Retrieval Product Features. The Contextual Data Archive includes the following search & retrieval innovations.
- Archive users can highlight a variable of interest and then immediately display its unweighted univariate statistics (including total valid N, mean, mode, SD, Min & Max values, and total N missing) and, for variables with fewer than 20 unique values, the unweighted frequencies of each value, including designated SPSS missing value frequencies. This is useful to archive users who want to quickly determine whether variables of substantive/topical utility may also meet criteria for statistical utility for desired analyses, e.g., having sufficient number of valid cases (total or within strata of interest), meeting assumptions of variance, and other distributional characteristics. Thus, users are able to efficiently make more informed choices about variables to include or exclude from SPSS and SAS program extracts.
- The archive includes machine-readable User Guide files (in addition the printed Guides) as part of the search & retrieval software. This allows users to quickly search for study summaries (overviews of methodology, etc.) and similar documentation for any archived study as well as to perform full-text keyword searches within or across User's Guides in the archive.