Introduction to Data Sets

Institution: see Organisers & Acknowledgements

Programme of study: International Research Workshop

Lecturer:

SOEP: PD Dr. Elke Holst (German Institute for Economic Research/DIW Berlin)
ALLBUS: Dipl.-Soz. Michael Blohm (GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences)
IAB Data: Dipl.-Vw. Stefan Seth (Institute for Employment Research/IAB)

Date: Monday, 29/09/14 – Wednesday, 01/10/14 from 09.00-12.30 h

Max. number of participants: 20

Credit Points: 5 CP for participating in the whole IRWS

Language of instruction: English

Contents:

Monday, 29/09/14: Introduction to the SOEP

The Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) is a longitudinal study of private households in Germany. The panel provides information on all household members and was started in 1984. In 2011, there were more than 12,300 households with more than 21,000 persons sampled. Some of the many topics include household composition, occupational biographies, employment, earnings, health, wellbeing, integration, values, lifestyles, and personality. The course gives an overview of the data structure and the research designs facilitated by longitudinal household studies that go beyond conventional surveys (household analysis, intergenerational analysis, life course research, etc.). The course provides an applied introduction into the data retrieval via SOEPinfo.

Required: statistical knowledge, basic Stata or SPSS skills.

Recommended literature and pre-readings:

Tuesday, 30/09/14: Introduction to the ALLBUS

ALLBUS (Allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften – German General Social Survey (GGSS)) is one of the foremost survey programs in Germany. It has been institutionalized as a part of GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. The prototype for similar national data generation programs is the American General Social Survey (GSS).

Since 1980, ALLBUS/GGSS has provided a series of representative cross-sectional samples drawn from the adult population in Germany. These biennial surveys include partly replicative and partly innovative question modules and added value data for analyses of social structure, attitudes, values, and behavior in Germany. Moreover, users may find various possibilities for international comparisons. Currently, 19 ALLBUS/GGSS surveys (1980-2012) with a total of 57,723 respondents are available. A large part of the documentation has been translated into English.

In its first part the course gives an overview of the project as such. Basic sampling procedures, various question modules, and recent activities of the ALLBUS Research Data Center will be presented. The second part consists of hands-on exercises of chosen data. The analyses will be done primarily using Stata. Participants should have fundamental knowledge in data handling, in statistical data analysis and in using programs like Stata/SPSS via syntax. In addition, a report on the experience in ALLBUS/GGSS with Survey Nonresponse will be given.

Recommended literature and pre-readings:

  • Alba, Richard, Peter Schmidt and Martina Wasmer (eds.) 2003: Germans or Foreigners? Attitudes Towards Ethnic Minorities in Post-Reunification Germany, New York und Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Blohm, Michael, Franziska Lerch, Ute Hoffstätter, Katharina Schmidt and Daniel Nowack 2013: ALLBUS-Bibliographie (27. Fassung), GESIS – Technical Reports 2013|06.
  • Davis, James Allen, Peter Ph. Mohler and Tom W. Smith 1994: Nationwide General Social Surveys, in: Borg, Ingwer and Peter Ph. Mohler (eds.), Trends and Perspectives in Empirical Social Research, Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter: 17-25.
  • Smith, Tom W., Jibum Kim, Achim Koch and Alison Park 2005: Social-Science Research and the General Social Surveys, in: ZUMA-Nachrichten 56: 68-77.
  • Terwey, Michael 2000: ALLBUS: A German General Social Survey, in: Schmollers Jahrbuch 120: 151-158.
  • Terwey, Michael and Horst Baumann 2013: Variable Report German General Social Survey. ALLBUS / GGSS Cumulation 1980 – 2010, ZA-Study-No 4576, Cologne: GESIS, GESIS – Variable Reports No. 2013|2.

Wednesday, 01/10/14: Introduction to IAB Data

The Institute for Employment Research in Nuremberg has available a wealth of micro data on the German labor market and offers access to it in its Research Data Center (FDZ). The course’s goal is to arouse the participants’ interest in FDZ data and to guide their first steps into analyzing them. The focus will be on two large administrative data sets, namely the Sample of Integrated Employment Biographies (SIAB) and the Establishment History Panel (BHP). In hands-on sessions we will explore, cleanse and prepare the data, calculate durations, and implement simple imputation procedures. The course will also cover in some detail the IAB Establishment Panel, the FDZ’s most important survey data set, and the Linked Employer-Employee Dataset of the IAB (LIAB); other FDZ data will also be presented, but rather cursorily.

FDZ website
Overview of FDZ data

Basic to medium Stata skills required for the tutorial.

You have to register for the 8th International Research Workshop to participate in this course.