Most sociologists, both professionals and students, now have their own computer with direct access to a printer for writing and to the Internet for electronic mail (e-mail). Beyond the basic tasks of writing and e-mailing are a variety of other computer-supported research applications, both quantitative and qualitative. This article describes how sociologists and other social scientists use these applications and what resources are available.

The data and modeling requirements of social research have united sociologists with computers for over a hundred years. It was the 1890 U. S. census that inspired Herman Hollerith, a census researcher, to construct the first automated data processing machinery. Hollerith's punchcard system, while not a true computer by today's definitions, provided the foundation for contemporary computer-based data management.

In 1948 the U. S. Bureau of the Census, anticipating the voluminous tabulating requirements of the 1950 census, contracted for the building...