Social Policy and Social Work: Datasets & Statistics

Information about books, journals, databases and other useful social policy and social work resources.

Data Analysis

UCD IT Services provide access for students to a range of data analysis software packages, including NVivo, SPSS and Stata. These can be downloaded or accessed through the UCD Connect page - selecting the Software Download option for NVivo. Stata and SPSS are available via AppsAnywhere.

A full listing of the applications available and instructions for downloading can be found here.

Please contact IT Services for more information (https://fujitsuireland.service-now.com/itucd)

Useful Datasets for Social Policy and Social Work

An Garda Siochana
Road accident statistics and other garda publications.
Annual Reports including regional demographic.
Crime data/statistics. Crime Assets Bureau statistics
Central Statistics Office
Hosts databases including StatBank; Census of Population, Agriculture and several other public sector areas.
Includes statistical databases from International Organizations such as Eurostat, ECB, OECD, UNECE, UNSC, & IMF.
ESRI (Economic & Social Research Institute)
A leading European research centre in the social sciences focusing on economic and social change in Ireland
Irish Social Science Data Archive (ISSDA)
Surveys included are Growing up in Ireland; Opinion Poll data; Cross National Comparative Data, Social and Political Attitudes Survey, NCPP Employee Attitudes Survey, Irish National Election Study, Ageism and Ageing, Eurostudent and Attitudes to Disability

ESRI (Economic & Social Research Institute)
A leading European research centre in the social sciences focusing on economic and social change in Ireland
European Social Survey (ESS)
A biennial multi-country survey covering over 30 nations, funded jointly by the European Commission, European Science Foundation and academic funding bodies in each participating country.
Eurostat
The Statistical Office of the European Union. Provides high-quality statistical information on the EU Member States Includes information on Eurostat printed and electronic publications Data is charged for but some key indicator snapshots are free to view.
SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe)
Database of micro-data on health, socio-economic status and social and family networks of individuals aged 50+. Data contributed by 11 countries in 2004: Denmark, Sweden, Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Greece Further data collected 2005-06 for Israel. The Czech Republic; Poland & Ireland joined SHARE in 2006.
UK Data Archive (UKDA)
Contains the largest collection of digital data in the Social Sciences and Humanities in the U.K.

Child Care Research
Links to data suitable for further analysis and statistical results generated from US public sources.

OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
OECD iLibrary contains all the publications and datasets released by OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and International Transport Forum (ITF) since 1998. Formerly SourceOECD, the platform comprises 20 Book collections by theme, containing all OECD monographs and reports; 24 periodicals; a reference title; and the OECD statistical databases.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Profiles and global datasets on the subjects of education, literacy, culture and communication, and science and technology, plus reports generated from these resources
United Nations Statistics Division
Provides access to a wide range of official statistical outputs and services. A limited amount of data is available free of charge e.g. summaries of world population, health, education, employment, and other social indicators.

World Development Indicators Online This link opens in a new window
World Development Indicators Online, published by the World Bank, is a comprehensive database of development information covering more than 575 indicators, 225 countries, and 18 regional and income groups. The extensive collection includes data on population, income, social, economic, financial, natural resources and environmental indicators from 1960 onwards.

WHO World Health Organisation Statistics
Key international health statistics.

Finding Data Tutorial

As a student you are probably using research data for assignments in which your findings are based on evidence you have gathered. Use this tutorial to help you understand the types of data available for reuse, where to find these data and how to use them in your own research.

At the end of this 10-minute tutorial, you will be able to:

Identify what data are and how they can be used for research.
Understand the process of collecting data.
Understand best practice in re-using data.
Identify reliable sources of data for your assignments and research.