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    Academic Universe    Congressional Universe    Statistical Universe    GPO Access

    Pathfinder for Research Methods in Psychology

    Using The Library Catalog to Find Books, Journals, and CD-Roms

    Blais -- To locate books, journals, or CD-Roms at Claremont, search Blais, the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges online catalog. Please note that you can search for journals by title of the journal (example: Journal of Psychology), but not for titles or authors of articles in those journals.

    Publications can be searched by author, title, or subject. If you are unsure of the exact title or if your subject search doesn't produce the results you hoped for, try a "Words in title" search using two or three of the most significant words from the title or subject you are trying to find.

    Scope of Data Presentations

    Data cited herein are available via the agencies' web site, or via CD-Rom and/or paper in the Government Publications Dept. Please be aware that the data will be presented differently in each format (e.g. CD-Rom vs. web vs. paper), and may be aggregated differently according to their respective interfaces and algorithms.

    Categories of Data Available Pertinent to Psychology

    Demographic - Population and housing data from the Bureau of the Census
    Justice - Crime and delinquency data from the Dept. of Justice
    Health - Vital and other statistics from the Dept. of Health and Human Services

    Demographic

    Web:


    U.S. Bureau of the Census is the government agency for a wealth of official (government) statistics on population, employment and housing. On its web page, the Bureau links to derived datasets by topic. Be forewarned that some links contain no basic data, just information on where the information is available. Also, the statistics available on the Census Web site may not be as in-depth as on the CD-Rom. Consult a Government Publications Librarian for help in locating the particular data you need.

    The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey has been conducted for more than 50 years. The CPS home page is a joint project between the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of the Census. It offers:
    ---publications of CPS statistical data
    ---extraction of data from CPS data sets using Ferret or BLS Labstat
    ---detailed information on the history, methodology, and concepts of the CPS

    CD-Rom:


    Consult a Government Publications Librarian for help in locating and loading CD-Roms. You may find most CD-Roms listed in BLAIS by searching the Subject: United States -- Census, 21st, 1990 -- Data bases.

    You may also find an exhaustive listing of Census CD-Roms, with descriptions of content, by searching Infomine at UC Riverside. Use the search term "1990 Census of Population and Housing".

    Examples of CD-Rom holdings:


    1990 census of population and housing. Summary tape file 3A. California (Los Angeles County) [computer file] SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM C 3.282/2:CD 90-3 A-05/992. Summary Tape File 3 discs contain sample data weighted to represent the total population. Summary tables report responses to census questions about families, education, employment, income, and housing.

     Current population survey: annual demographic files: March 1991, 1992, 1993. SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM C 3.224/12:991-93. The Annual Demographic File contains household interview data regarding employment/unemployment status, weeks worked in the past year, hours worked per week, occupation, household income, and household non-cash benefits. Data are collected in March of each year by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

    Justice

    Web:


    The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the federal website for statistics on crimes and victims, drugs and crime, criminal offenders, and various other statistics on the criminal justice system. There is also some downloadable data for state, locality, and federal district.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation offers information about law enforcement activities and crime and in the United States as well as descriptions of FBI programs and activities. Included are statistics, reports, and articles about crime and law enforcement in the United States. Publications include recent issues of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin and the NCIC 2000 newsletter as well as Uniform Crime Report data in Crime in the United States.

    CD-Rom:


    Crime in the United States SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM J 1.14/7-8:995. Presents crime statistics for the nation as a whole, as well as for regions, states, counties, cities, towns, and college and university campuses. These data are compiled from monthly law enforcement reports or individual crime incident reports transmitted directly to the FBI or to centralized state agencies that then report to the FBI.

    Health

    Web:


    U.S. National Center for Health Statistics is the government agency for official (government) statistics on these topics:
     

    • Behavioral Risk Factors (Overweight, Serum cholesterol levels, Smoking during pregnancy, and Tobacco use)
    • Diseases (Selected chronic conditions (Long-term illness), Hypertension, and Pelvic inflammatory disease)
    • Infant and Child Health (Breastfeeding, Infant mortality, Low birthweight, and Prenatal care)
    • Infertility (Fecundity status)
    • Sex Education (Sex education before age 18)
    • Sexual Activity (Age of partner at first intercourse, Percent who ever had intercourse, and Percent whose first intercourse was not voluntary)
    • Use of Contraceptives (Contraceptive use at first intercourse, Consistency of oral contraceptive use, Consistency of use of other contraceptives, and Current contraceptive status)
    • Vital Events (Births, Births by method of delivery, Births by payment for delivery, Births (unwanted), Deaths, Leading causes of death, and Life expectancy)


    CD-Rom:


    These are some of the titles available in the Honnold/Mudd Government Publications Search Center. Ask a Government Publications Librarian for help in loading and using these:

    National Health Interview Survey. SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM HE 20.6209/4-3:10/(no.1-7). (7 CD-Roms) Information about the health characteristics and health status of the civilian, non-institutionalized population of the United States is collected in household interviews through the National Health Interview Survey. Data records on the CD-ROM may be retrieved using the Statistical Export and Tabulation System (SETS) software.

    National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM HE 20.6209/4-5:13(no.2-7). (6 CD-Roms) The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) collects data on the health care provided by hospital emergency departments and outpatient departments to the population of the United States. Data records on the CD-ROM may be retrieved using the Statistical Export and Tabulation System (SETS).

    Birth Cohort Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set (also called Multiple Causes of Death, Fetal Death Data File) SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM HE 20.6209/4-7:20/(no.1-7) (7 CD-Roms) Each year's ( 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991)Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set contains three separate data files comprising nearly 4,000,000 records. The Numerator file includes linked records of live births and infant deaths for the year's birth cohort. The denominator-plus file contains the live birth file for the year. These files are offered as a numerator/denominator data set to give users the means to compute infant mortality rates. The third file, the unlinked file, contains information from the death certificates for all infant death records which could not be linked to their corresponding birth certificates. SETS retrieval software allows access to the files.

    1990 National Hospital Discharge Survey SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM HE 20.6209/7-2:13/1. Covers discharges from noninstitutional short-stay hospitals, exclusive of federal, military, and Veterans Administration hospitals, located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

    The Longitudinal Study of Aging, 1984-90 SuDoc call number: HON GOV CD-ROM HE 20.7041:1. (one CD-ROM) The CD-Rom contains three files: LSOA Interview and National Death Index Data; Medicare Hospital Record, Part A; and Other Medicare Use Record, parts A and B.

    Other useful information:


    Brief Guide to Citing Government Information  A site which provides guides to citing government information, both in traditional and electronic format.

    Guide to Citing Print and Electronic Resources  A site which provides guides to citing government information, both in traditional and electronic format.

    For help in using the CD-Roms or other Government Publications, please contact Ruth Schooley, (909/607-7122 or ruth.schooley@libraries.claremont.edu) to make an appointment for loading, training, and extracting these files.

    The Library Bibliographer for Psychology is Meg Garrett, meg.garrett@libraries.claremont.edu. You may also reach her at (909) 607-7101. Please contact her for help in researching psychology topics.

     BRH 2/98

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