Social Data

Social Data is small, specialized social research firm with a genuine commitment to serving the public interest, and powerful technical capabilities. All of Social Data's services are available at affordable rates over the internet. This website describes Social Data, provides some illustration of recent work, and enables you to contact us. Also included is a short client list and the Director's bio.

Social Data provides:

• Study Design, Planning and Supervision. Social Data designs research projects, and collects and analyzes data from RDD telephone, mail and face-to-face surveys; official state databases including vital statistics and public registries; private client records including multiple contact databases; and public economic, employment and census databases.

• Consultation and Facilitation. Social Data is adept at guiding groups and organizations conducting their own studies, including community assessments, quality studies, outcome evaluations, and organizational behavior studies. Our orientation is toward empowering people to make positive change.

• Evaluation of Alternative Study Designs. With its knowledge of the market for research services, Social Data can act as broker for clients seeking to contract for large-scale data collection and analysis projects, and protect clients from purchasing poor quality research.

• Effective Presentation of Study Results for Client Groups. Making clear and moving presentations of important findings for significant client audiences is a specialty of Social Data. We believe a research project has been effective when people think and act differently after discovering what was learned.

• Advanced Analyses of Social and Economic Data. Social Data is distinguished by its strengths in the analysis of survey and sample data. We have particular skills in advanced statistical methods including limited dependent variables, small and finite populations, non-random and correlated samples, pooled data, time-series, and structural equations. Data analysis projects can easily be conducted over the internet.

• Geographic Analyses. Social Data has pioneered new techniques in the spatial analysis of social behavior. We have developed new methods for mapping survey data, including making surface maps and correlating survey data with geographic variables.

Social Data makes "best practice" social scientific research methods and data analysis accessible and affordable to government, non-profit organizations, academic researchers, and business groups serving the public interest. By this we mean that in our work we use the most rigourous research methods--methods that are accepted at leading universities and government agencies. And that we actively seek to be involved in projects of significant public merit, especially projects likely to influence public policy or the behavior of public and private institutions. We have 16 years of experience in public and private, national and international social and economic research. During this time we have acquired expertise in public health, health care, and epidemilogy; community development; student health and retention; small business development and regulation; natural resources utilization; arbitration and mediation; conflict studies; organizational behavior; and non-profit development. Social Data has conducted multi-lingual and cross-cultural research in the United States and East Africa.

All of Social Data's Services are available over the internet (or by mail). Data analysis projects are particularly suited to the internet, and internet analysis projects are quite affordable.

Typically, a client seeking analysis services over the internet will e-mail a dataset for analysis in any standard format (ASCII, DBase, Excel, etc.), together with a codebook describing how the variables were measured, and a description of the required analysis and expected tables, charts or reports.

Depending on the size of the project, results can be returned by e-mail in as little as 24 hours. Social Data charges $ 50.00 per hour for internet (and mail) projects.

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Social Data has worked with the Russell Sage Foundation, the Family Independence Agency of Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources, Ingham and Wayne County Health Departments, Sparrow Hospital and Michigan Capital Medical Center, the Office of the Provost and the Department of Radiology at Michigan State University, Ingham and Eaton Intermediate School Districts, Ford Motor and Chrysler Corporations, the Better Business Bureau, the Small Business Development Association, the United Nations Development Program, and numerous non-profit organizations including United Way of Michigan and the Girl Scounts of America.

Marcus Cheatham, owner of Social Data, earned his B.A. studying rural development at the Institute for Development Studies in Nairobi, Kenya. He earned his M.A. at the University of Oregon, and his Ph.D. in Political Science at Michigan Statue University, where he became Director of Survey Research at the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. He later became an analyst for the Ingham County Health Department, which includes Lansing, the capital of Michigan. Social Data was founded in 1994.

Contact us...

e-mail us at BRLP95A@prodigy.com or call (517) 339-7912.

• Surface Map of the percent of persons living in poverty in Ingham County, Michigan. This map was made using Census counts of persons by poverty status. The data were aggregated from Census block groups into overlapping circles of one mile in diameter, and projected onto a half mile grid. Some web browsers do not fully resolve this image because it is a very fine grained GIF file. However, it is worth the effort to import it and view it in a graphics program because it is clear and highly detailed.

• Making Surface Maps from Survey Data. Hyperlink to an excellent Social Data web page describing techniques for synthetic surface mapping using survey data.

• Coming soon! Methods for using error analysis to select between rival structural models.

Total hits on this site:

September, 1997. Haslett, Michigan.

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