ICPSR, the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, was established in 1962. An integral part of the infrastructure of social science research, ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction (over 7000 discrete studies/surveys), and offers training in quantitative methods to facilitate effective data use. To ensure that data resources are available to future generations of scholars, ICPSR preserves data, migrating them to new storage media as changes in technology warrant. In addition, ICPSR provides user support to assist researchers in identifying relevant data for analysis and in conducting their research projects.
A unit within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, ICPSR is a membership-based organization, with over 640 member colleges and universities around the world. A Council of leading scholars and data professionals guides and oversees the activities of ICPSR.