About EDRS

The Electronic Data Resources Service (EDRS) purchases and manages social science and other research data in electronic form, making it available for use by the University community.

It is a specialized library service providing on- and off-campus access to electronic data, and specialized support and training to McGill University students and staff using data. EDRS provides assistance to students at all levels; helping undergraduates master the software and computer skills necessary for using data in assignments and projects, and assisting graduates in finding, preparing and analyzing the data needed for research for theses and publication. Promoting numeracy— the art of understanding and manipulating numbers—is central to the mandate of EDRS.

Collection description

The data collections consist of numeric, spatial and textual research data files. The data files contain quantitative research data, including microdata, aggregate data and time-series databases of relevance to a wide range of disciplines. EDRS cooperates actively with the other branches of the McGill Libraries to build comprehensive coverage for specific topics.

EDRS handles the McGill membership in a number of data consortia. Canadian data resources are acquired mainly via the Data Liberation Program (DLI) supported by Statistics Canada. Membership in the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides access to the world's largest archive of social science research data. An extensive collection of polling data is available through membership in the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.

Holdings of datasets and codebooks are augmented regularly. A large collection of codebooks in paper format are available for consultation in the EDRS office. The printing of electronic codebooks is available by request.