In order to provide some comparative perspective on the sort of data which might be available in NZ were more serious searching to be activated, the ASSDA catalogue was downloaded and multiple data sets removed. This reduced the number from 2000 data sets to just over 1000 surveys. When series (e.g. waves of longitudinal studies or series of polls) are identified, the number of surveys stored falls to some 600–700.
| Grouping | Frequency | Percent |
| 1940 to 1949 | 7 | 0.7 |
| 1950 to 1959 | 29 | 2.7 |
| 1960 to 1969 | 53 | 5 |
| 1970 to 1979 | 88 | 8.3 |
| 1980 to 1989 | 309 | 29.1 |
| 2000 to 2009 | 22 | 2.1 |
| Accidents and injuries | 4 | 0.4 |
| Attitudes towards work | 15 | 1.4 |
| Behaviour | 3 | 0.3 |
| Child development and child … | 1 | 0.1 |
| Childbearing | 3 | 0.3 |
| Community and urban studies | 21 | 2 |
| Conflict | 1 | 0.1 |
| Consumer behaviour | 11 | 1 |
| Crime and law enforcement | 9 | 0.8 |
| Development | 1 | 0.1 |
| Drug abuse | 55 | 5.2 |
| Economic conditions and indicators | 3 | 0.3 |
| Economic systems and development | 1 | 0.1 |
| Election and campaign studies | 24 | 2.3 |
| Elites and leadership | 6 | 0.6 |
| Emotions | 3 | 0.3 |
| Ethnic minorities (including … | 7 | 0.7 |
| Evaluation of ... | 3 | 0.3 |
| Family life and marriage | 11 | 1 |
| Foreign affairs | 5 | 0.5 |
| Gender roles | 1 | 0.1 |
| Generalised health survey | 18 | 1.7 |
| Health services and medical | 52 | 4.9 |
| Higher and further | 5 | 0.5 |
| Housing finance | 1 | 0.1 |
| Housing location | 5 | 0.5 |
| Income | 1 | 0.1 |
| International politics | 2 | 0.2 |
| Land use and planning | 2 | 0.2 |
| Legal systems | 17 | 1.6 |
| Leisure | 16 | 1.5 |
| Living standards | 8 | 0.8 |
| Management and organisation | 2 | 0.2 |
| Mass media | 1 | 0.1 |
| Membership to organisations | 1 | 0.1 |
| Migrants | 28 | 2.6 |
| Morbidity and ... | 2 | 0.2 |
| National security | 10 | 0.9 |
| Natural environment and conservation | 5 | 0.5 |
| Occupations | 74 | 7 |
| Policing | 5 | 0.5 |
| Political affiliation | 8 | 0.8 |
| Population survey | 6 | 0.6 |
| Primary/preprimary/secondary | 7 | 0.7 |
| Psychological tests | 1 | 0.1 |
| Religion | 3 | 0.3 |
| Retirement | 1 | 0.1 |
| School leaving | 10 | 0.9 |
| Science | 2 | 0.2 |
| Scientific or technological | 1 | 0.1 |
| Social and occupational mobility | 7 | 0.7 |
| Social attitudes | 18 | 1.7 |
| Social indicators | 9 | 0.8 |
| Specific education type | 10 | 0.9 |
| Specific social services | 8 | 0.8 |
| Stress (Psychological) | 1 | 0.1 |
| Teaching profession | 5 | 0.5 |
| Time use | 1 | 0.1 |
| Trade | 4 | 0.4 |
| Travel/transport | 6 | 0.6 |