The
benefits to users of having access to The Data Archive are fairly obvious. They
obtain expensive resources cheaply - often these are data which they could not
have collected themselves such as census material or data which are by-products
of administrative processes. High quality research is promoted as a result of
this access. The re-analysis of data from a different perspective is
encouraged. The access to data in electronic form permits a level and depth of
analysis which cannot be undertaken with published material.
It is critical that data producers
should be aware of the benefits to them of sharing data if we are to continue to
persuade them to make their data available. These are discussed below.
There are strong reasons
for depositing data so that secondary analysts have access to them. In this way
the data producers can contribute to the development of knowledge by ensuring
their data are exploited to their full potential. Secondary research
facilitates multiple perspectives upon data which have often been collected to
address a narrower range of questions. Similarly comparative research can be
encouraged by the preservation of multiple data sets for access.
A further reason for
providing access to data is that it assists in the training of empirical social
researchers. Often data archives can be actively involved in teaching or in
setting up teaching opportunities. For instance, a large number of the social science data
archives run summer schools on empirical social research. The building and
sharing of teaching materials can be carried out by data archives taking
advantage of their links into many academic networks. The recent establishment
of EU funded large scale facilities in the social sciences at the Central
Archive (ZA) in Germany
The Data Archive assists in the
promotion of data through catalogues often held electronically, links with
other archives and data suppliers, by submitting material to relevant
newsletters, and e-mail lists, and running data workshops and giving
presentations at conferences. Assistance by user services staff helps to ensure
that informed use is made of the data whilst data providers are cushioned from
the demands of users who have queries on the data and how to use them. In this
way The Data Archive acts as a buffer between users and producers of data. This
is an especially useful role because many queries and problems are unrelated to
the data. Many potential users of data have little experience of computing or
statistical analysis and often have limited assistance at their own
institutions. Supporting users is time consuming and requires an understanding
of their needs. The Data Archive can draw on resources for funding support
which may not be available to producers.
Data producers are increasingly
interested in forging links with users, in order to take advantage of users'
expertise and to create a community of knowledgeable data users. The Data
Archive assists with the establishment of this relationship which can be very
useful to data providers. They might consult this 'expert group', get feedback
on use especially relating to policy relevant research and have access to a
community of supporters who will fight with them when their resources and
therefore their data are under threat.
The supply of data for secondary
analysis reduces the need to collect data afresh and thus reduces respondent
burden. Compliance costs are a concern particularly when data are required from
small populations such as surveys of businesses or elites.
The Data Archive improves the
accessibility of data by employing demand led distribution systems and by
integrating different datasets. Value is added to data directly by The Data
Archive staff or by requiring users of the data to redeposit data to which they
have added value. This
might be by adding contextual information, improving or advising on
documentation, reformatting data for delivery, extracting subsets of data and
documentation, providing systems to permit data to be visualised, browsed and
extracts selected. An important attraction of giving access to data for
secondary analysis is that credit will accrue to the depositor. We try to
ensure that this happens by specifying that acknowledgement must take place and
advising on the wording of citations. The Data Archive periodically writes to
journal editors to alert them to the requirement to cite data sources.
In order to persuade data providers
to deposit data it is vital that we ensure that their conditions of access are
carried out. In some situations this can involve implementing controls over use
and occasionally charges for data must be collected. It is also important that
we are sensitive to confidentiality issues.
Data Archive must build reputation
on the fact that it can preserve the electronic information in a way which
permits both data and documentation to be accessible over time. The data
management and preservation system must ensure :
- physical reliability of digital information
- security of data and documentation from
unauthorised use
- on-going usability of data & documentation
- integration of the data into information and
delivery systems.
Management
of data with very variable access regimes requires expertise, equipment and
operational systems as well as trust and credibility. Since very few data
providers have built the expertise and facilities needed to preserve data so
that they can be read over time despite changes to hardware and software
environments a major advantage is achieved by giving depositors priority access
to their own data.
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