Download - Archiving our Social Science Digital History
Archiving our Social Science Archiving our Social Science
Digital HistoryDigital History
ECURE 2005March 1, 2005
Presentation Overview• Background Information
• The ICPSR Process
• New Directives
Background• Established in 1962
• Membership-based organization, with over 500 member colleges and universities around the world
• Encourages and facilitates research and instruction in the social sciences and related areas
Background• 2004-2005 budget approximately $10 million
• Around 100 employees; 40 data-processing staff
• World’s largest archive of computer-readable social science data
ICPSR’s Mission• Acquire social science data
• Preserve social science data in perpetuity
• Assist with the use of social science data for research
• Assist with the use of social science data for teaching
Our data holdings cover a broad range of disciplines• Political Science• History• Foreign Policy• Economics• Education
• Criminal Justice• Law• Public Health• Foreign Policy• Gerontology
Two Kinds of Archival Holdings:
• General Archive Holdings are funded with member dues and are available only to members
• Special Topic Archives are supported by foundations or federal agencies and are available to all
Special Topic Archives:• Child Care and Early Education Research
Connections• Health and Medical Care Archive• International Archive of Education Data• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data• National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data
Archive
Confidentiality• Confidentiality review of all contents of the data
collection
• Disclosure analysis
• Public Use version vs. Restricted Use version of data
Restricted Use Data• Several dozen data collections
• Restricted Use Agreement
• No copy is stored online or on a file server connected to any network
• Secure Data Enclave
Downloading Data• Immediate downloads to the user’s desktop
• Supporting documentation and setups for statistical packages supplied
• Technical support provided
Web-based finding aids for resource discovery:
• Detailed metadata about each collection
• Robust field-specific search capability
• Thesaurus - 4,500+ social science keywords
• Bibliography of data-related publications (over 35,000 citations)
Research Directions:• Analysis of procedures to limit disclosure risk
• Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) to develop standards for XML markup of social science materials
New This Year• Data for Demographic Research (sponsored
by Demographic & Behavioral Sciences Branch @ NICHD)
• Data-PASS (sponsored by the Library of Congress)
Data Sharing for Demographic Research • Collaboration with:
– the Carolina Population Center (CPC) – the Minnesota Population Center (MPC) – Population Studies Center (PSC)
• Supported by the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Data-PASS: The Partners• ICPSR
• Roper Center
• Odum Institute
• Murray Center
• Virtual Data Center
• National Archives
Data-PASS: The Plan• Identify significant data collections
(classic)
• Identify important contemporary data (that are “at risk”)
• Develop common standards and procedures across partnership
For More Information• Website: www.icpsr.umich.edu
• Darrell [email protected]