HELP

DOWNLOAD FORMAT

Our data are supplied in a number of easy to use formats.

Data Documentation

These are the contextual materials which accompany each data collection and allow users to interpret and understand the data within the collection. These include user guides, questionnaires, interview instructions and technical reports, topic guides and code books.

Formats = PDF, HTML and MS Excel

Quantitative data

These are typically microdata which are the coded numerical responses to surveys with a separate record for each individual respondent. They can also be aggregate data from administrative and historical sources.

Data formats = SPSS, Stata, tab-delimited formats, MS Access and MS Excel

Multimedia data

A small number of datasets may include image files, such as photographs or audio clips.

Data formats = TIFF and MP3

Non-digital material

We do hold print-based media such as photographs, reports, questionnaires and transcriptions, as well as analogue audio or audio-visual recordings.

Data formats = paper, audio or video cassette

Online data

A selection of our data is available via our online search tools.

Nesstar Catalogue = browse surveys online and download in a number of formats including SPSS, Stata, tab-delimited formats, Statistica and Dbase

Qualidata Online = browse selected qualitative data collections online, as HTML

Histpop = browse textual and statistical material from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as HTML, PNG, TIFF and MS Excel

A QUICK GUIDE TO THE ARCHIVE  

1 of 10: We provide continuous access to the UK’s largest collection of digital research data in the social sciences
2 of 10: We hold thousands of data collections for social science research and teaching, quantitative and qualitative
3 of 10: Each of our data collections has a unique persistent identifier (DOI) that makes it easier to find and cite
4 of 10: We hold the only copy of many of the UK's large national surveys charting social research back decades
5 of 10: We are an established national archive at the forefront of managing, preserving, sharing and delivering data
6 of 10: We are certified to ISO 27001, the information security standard, and helped develop the Data Seal of Approval
7 of 10: We are a collaborative organisation supporting emerging and existing creators and users of data
8 of 10: We provide best practice guidance and training in managing and sharing research data
9 of 10: You won’t be able to find your family records on our site. You should visit a genealogical site instead
10 of 10: We don’t provide ready-made statistics, but using Nesstar you can view frequencies from popular surveys

OUR SERVICES  

RELU-DSS 
supporting rural research data management
UK Data Service 
data promoting evidence-based research
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