Data
AUSSA
The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) is a key source of data for studying Australian social attitudes, beliefs, and opinions. It helps researchers understand Australians’ thoughts and feelings, compares them with other societies, and aims to discover the range of Australian views on important topics. AuSSA is part of the International Social Survey Project (ISSP), a cross-national collaboration on surveys covering important topics.
LSAY
In 2003, 12,500 15-year-old students participated in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), becoming the third cohort of the LSAY program (LSAY Y03). Assessments included mathematical, reading, scientific, and problem-solving skills. Students also completed a background questionnaire and telephone interviews. The Y03 cohort’s LSAY telephone interviews included questions about school, transitions, post-school education, work, health, living arrangements, finance, and general attitudes. Interviews were conducted online since 2012, with the final wave occurring in 2013.
Census
Every five years, the ABS counts every person and household in Australia. We call this the Census of Population and Housing.
The Census is the most comprehensive snapshot of the country and tells the story of how we are changing. It is held every 5 years in early August, and collects information on all people in Australia. Census data tells us about the economic, social and cultural make-up of the country.
Australian census data is available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics census site. The Australian Data Archive maintains historical census content through the Historical and Colonial Census Data Archive.
ANZLEAD
Political science researchers frequently use secondary public research and administrative data. However, these datasets are often developed in isolation by different organizations using bespoke vocabularies and data standards. Researchers must find, access, and integrate disparate sources to study complex problems, especially across units of analysis, jurisdictions, and over time. This requires significant harmonisation work to analyze data like changes in the voting party over time.
The ANZLEAD Data Asset Project aims to harmonize political science datasets, create a comprehensive data asset, publish a Controlled Vocabulary, and enhance the researcher’s work. To know more about ANZLEAD data collection, please visit the ANZLEAD site.