Social science data sets have grown exponentially both in size and number over the last ten years. The objective of this research is to empower social scientists with the ability to search a wide universe of archived social science data sets, select data appropriate to their research objectives, and acquire files and documentation as soon as they are selected. The data sets to be made available on-line include the public data and instrument archives at Sociometrics Corporation: the Data Archive on Adolescent Pregnancy and Pregnancy Prevention, the American Family Data Archive, the AIDS/STD Data Archive, the Maternal Drug Abuse Data Archive, the Data Archive of Social Research on Aging, the Research Archieve on Disability in the U.S. and future archieves as they are completed. By the launch date for the proposed on- line data center, over 350 data sets--processed and documented in standard fashion--will be available. Phase I produced designs and prototype systems that demonstrate the feasibility of establishing and operating: (1) Socionet-direct access to data, documentation, original instruments, and software from a set of CD-ROMs housed at the user's site, (on a microcomputer or local network); and (2) Socionet-remote Internet access to the Socionet data, documentation, original instruments, and software from an Internet server at Sociometrics. Socionet will be accompanied by powerful search and retrieval software that allows users to browse through the contents of the various data archives at both the study and variable levels.
