The ISSR Data Archives was established in December 1977 as a service unit supporting quantitative research, primarily secondary analysis, within the Institute for Social Science Research and the greater social science community at UCLA. The Archive maintains a collection of machine-readable data files and their documentation, coordinates the acquisition of additional data from a variety of sources, and provides access to publicly available data. The Archive is part of a network of national and international organizations, and maintains contact with researchers and data suppliers in order to be aware of new data collections, information management techniques, and new computing technology.

The Archive is used by faculty, staff and students for research, preparation of theses and dissertations, classroom instruction, and for planning of programs or development of policies. Although the Archive serves the entire campus, it is most used by those in social sciences such as political science, economics, geography, sociology, and by those from psychology, as well as the schools of medicine, public health, education and information science, and public policy.

Data are primarily acquired through the UCLA membership in the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). ICPSR is an international archive of quantitative data, and is located at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. In addition to making data available to members, the ICPSR also provides training in secondary analysis to social scientists at their annual summer training program. The ICPSR collection includes attitudinal surveys, census enumerations, election studies, and covers a range of other social science research areas.

Other sources for data include government agencies such as the National Center for Health Statistics, Bureau of the Census, National Center for Education Statistics, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economic time series data are supplied by Citibank. Data are acquired from other archives in the United States and internationally. Researchers at UCLA can also deposit their research data for long-term preservation. Surveys conducted by the Institute for Social Science Research, such as the Los Angeles County Social Survey, are also acquired by the Archive.

The Archive provides assistance in locating data and documentation as needed by researcher, students, and faculty. Users consult with Archive staff to identify research interests and to select data appropriate for specific projects. Assistance is also provided in using printed codebooks and other documentation. When useful materials have been identified, the staff makes data accessible in the computing environment and platform preferred by individual users. Technical consulting is provided for file transfer and access, and other computing questions.