data of sociological interest at strib infocenter

like many local newspapers, the minneapolis star-tribune now makes a wealth of data available at an online infocenter. my undergraduate students often prefer to analyze such local data in their research projects. they can bring some local knowledge and expertise to the analysis and they are often genuinely curious about, say, the differences between their hometowns and neighboring places.

some highlights:

• an interactive map of solved and unsolved homicide locations, with information on victims, suspects, and links to press accounts for 2007-2008


• school test scores, including english and math proficiency and the percentage of low-income, special education, and limited-english students in every minnesota district for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.


• an interactive map of bridge ratings, including inspection dates and scores on a 100-point scale.


• salary information on minnesota public employees (like me and my colleagues)


• ceo compensation, including pictures and personal information about ceos and their firms.


• campaign contributions, searchable and sortable by date, amount, name, and employer.


• information on revenue, profits, assets, market cap., employees, and growth for minnesota companies


• real estate transactions, sortable by date, price, and address

these data sources could answer some decent research questions in criminology (homicide), stratification (public and private sector compensation), political soc (campaign contributions), soc of education (test scores), and urban planning (real estate and bridge infrastructure). by combining these data, of course, researchers could address even more interesting questions.