Library Briefings

Tracking minority populations

Center offers tools for locating and analyzing information

The Minority Data Resource Center (MDRC) is a new initiative recently announced by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan (ICPSR). The goal of the MDRC is to provide educators, researchers and students with data resources which can be used in the analysis of issues affecting minority populations in the United States. The Center brings together in one place existing datasets on race and ethnicity with regard to subjects such as: crime, discrimination, education, employment, health and well-being, history, housing, immigration, and poverty. The datasets include the micro data from large on-going national surveys as well as administrative records which can be used to track changes in outcomes for members of a variety of different minority populations including African American, African, Asian, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander.

The MDRC also provides easy access to data files with a variety of online research tools intended to facilitate ease of use and analysis of the data which are available. In addition to following the familiar ICPSR system of downloading data documentation and files, available at the site are tutorials for using the online analysis system which makes it even easier for the new user to access specific variables from specific studies for quick use. The site’s homepage spotlights a Featured Dataset and a Featured Finding. Both give a small synopsis of the study, and the Featured Findings section displays tables and charts to illustrate the types of analyses that can be conducted using datasets available through MDRC.

In addition to the data related resources, there is a list of course syllabi, organized by discipline, that have been used in the instruction of students on the topics of race and ethnicity in the United States. There is a list of related sites and additional resources which will be added to over time. In the established tradition of excellence, ICPSR has once again provided the research community with an outstanding resource and by virture of membership, the Northwestern University community has access to all of the ICPSR resources including the Minority Data Resource Center.

Kathleen Murphy
Social Science Data Services Librarian
kemurphy@northwestern.edu
847-491-4090