Economic and Social Data Service Social Science Data Archives: creating, depositing and using data Swansea 23 March 2005 John Southall : Economic and Social Data Service Social Science Data Archives: creating, depositing and using data Swansea 23 March 2005 John Southall © Copyright 2005 Universities of Essex and Manchester. All rights reserved
ESDS : ESDS national data archiving and dissemination service, running from 1 Jan. 2003
www.esds.ac.uk
jointly supported by:
Economic and Social Research Council
Joint Information Systems Committee
partners:
UK Data Archive (UKDA), Essex
Manchester Information and Associated
Services (MIMAS), Manchester
Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and
Survey Research (CCSR), Manchester
Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Essex
ESDS overview : ESDS overview
provides access and support for key economic and social data
distributed service, bringing together centres of expertise in data creation, dissemination, preservation and use
provides seamless and easier access to a range of disparate resources for UK Higher and Further Education sectors
core archiving services plus four specialist data services
ESDS holdings : ESDS holdings Data for research and teaching purposes and used in all sectors and for many different disciplines
official agencies - mainly central government
individual academics - research grants
market research agencies
public records/historical sources
links to UK census data
qualitative and quantitative
international statistical time series
access to international data via
links with other data archives worldwide
history data service in-house (AHDS)
5,000+ datasets in the collection
200+ new datasets are added each year
6,500+ orders for data per year
18,000+ datasets distributed worldwide p.a.
ESDS structure : ESDS structure ESDS Management
central help desk service; coherent and flexible collections development policy; central registration service; links to other ESRC resources
ESDS Access and Preservation
collections development strategy; ingest activities - including data and documentation processing; metadata creation; data dissemination services; long-term preservation
Specialist data services
ESDS Government
ESDS International
ESDS Longitudinal
ESDS Qualidata dedicated web sites
data and documentation enhancements
tailored user support
outreach and training
ESDS: Online access to data and user guides : ESDS: Online access to data and user guides Web pages and metadata
easy to navigate format
web catalogue with variable level searching
subject browsing and major series
free web access to online study documentation - PDF user guides
One-stop registration
one-off registration with user id/password
online account management and ‘Shopping Basket’ ordering
data are freely available for the majority of users
Athens one-stop authentication
Data download and online data browsing
web download in various software formats - SPSS, STATA, tab-delimited, Word
Nesstar – online data analysis and visualisation
ESDS International online system
ESDS Qualidata Online browsing system
Search on ‘environment’ : Search on ‘environment’ 200+ datasets found
The large-scale government surveys : The large-scale government surveys
Benefits of the large-scale government datasets : Benefits of the large-scale government datasets Percentage of women aged 18-49 cohabiting General Household Survey
Nesstar software : Nesstar software browse detailed information (metadata) about these data sources, including links to other sources
do simple data analysis and visualisation on microdata
bookmark analyses
download the appropriate subset of data in one of a number of formats (e.g. SPSS, Excel)
What are longitudinal data? : What are longitudinal data? longitudinal surveys involve repeated surveys of the same individuals at different points in time
they have become increasingly important in the social sciences because they allow researchers to analyse change at the individual level
there are various different types of longitudinal studies including panel and cohort studies
users of longitudinal data will normally want to combine data collected at different times - data are more complex to use than other types of survey data
ESDS Longitudinal provides additional value-added services to minimise these complexities
Longitudinal Data : Longitudinal Data five main studies, that are primarily UK Research Council:
British Household Panel Survey (BHPS)
English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
British Birth Cohort studies:
National Child Development Survey (NCDS)
British Cohort Study 1970 (BCS70)
Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)
also possible forthcoming Medical Research Council population study datasets – 1946 Birth Cohort
British Birth Cohort Studies : British Birth Cohort Studies National Child Development Study (NCDS)
cohort born in a single week in 1958
data collected at birth and ages 7, 11, 16, 23, 33, 42
a unique resource for investigating social mobility and the impact on later life of childhood conditions
coverage includes a wide range of social, economic, health and psychological issues
Types of qualitative data : Types of qualitative data diverse data types: in-depth interviews; semi-structured interviews; focus groups; oral histories; mixed methods data; open-ended survey questions; case notes/records of meetings; diaries/research diaries
multimedia: audio, video, photos and text (most common is interview transcriptions)
formats: digital, paper, analogue audio-visual
data structures - differ across different ‘document types’
Qualitative data collections : Qualitative data collections data from National Research Council (ESRC) individual research grant awards
data from ESRC Programme research grant awards
data from ‘classic’ social science studies
other funders/sources
focus on DIGITAL Collections, but also facilitate paper-based archiving
Classic datasets : Classic datasets Peter Townsend – poverty, old age and Katherine Buildings
Paul Thompson – oral history and Edwardians
Ray Pahl – Hertfordshire Villages studies
National Social Policy and Social Change Archive, at Essex
ESDS Qualidata Online : ESDS Qualidata Online Creation of digital multimedia resources that integrate existing primary and secondary materials:
catalogues of interview summaries
full electronic interview transcripts
thematic browsing of interview transcripts
collections of digital sound clips
a set of contextual images
background information and press reviews on the original study
details of publications based upon secondary studies of the collection
an account of the digitisation methodology
International data themes : International data themes Databanks cover:
economic performance and development
trade, industry and markets
employment
demography, migration and health
governance
human development
social expenditure
education
science and technology
land use and the environment
International data providers : International data providers the databanks originate from:
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
United Nations (UN)
World Bank
Eurostat
International Labour Organisation
UK Office for National Statistics
freely available to UK academics – data licensing costs are paid by ESRC
datasets delivered over the web via Beyond 20/20
access using Athens username and password
IMF databanks : IMF databanks International Finance Statistics
Government Finance Statistics
Balance of Payments Statistics
Direction of Trade
The four major databanks produced by the IMF contain data on national accounts, trade, the balance of payments and government spending for around 190 countries. Collectively, they provide a global picture of economic development and international trade over the last 50 years. Updated Monthly
Fertility Rates in Europe : Fertility Rates in Europe
International survey data : International survey data ESDS International at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) can help users to locate and acquire data from other archives within Europe and worldwide, using a series of reciprocal agreements with the individual institutions.
Datasets include:
Eurobarometer
International Social Survey Programme
World Values Survey
Census Registration Service : Census Registration Service The Census Registration Service provides one-stop registration for:
Census Dissemination Unit from MIMAS (University of Manchester)
Census Geography Data Unit (UKBORDERS) from EDINA (University of Edinburgh)
Census Interaction Data Service (Universities of Leeds and St Andrews)
Samples of Anonymised Records from the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (University of Manchester)
AHDS History : AHDS History AHDS History is one of the five Subject Centres of the Arts and Humanities Data Service. ahds.ac.uk
AHDS History collects, preserves, and promotes the use of digital resources, which result from or support historical research, learning and teaching.
AHDS History collection : AHDS History collection particularly strong in 19th and 20th century economic and social history
census data (1881 100% sample; 1851 2% sample; lots of local census returns)
Great Britain Historical Database online
taxation materials
large scale datasets of Welsh and Irish historical statistics
electoral data (poll books for local areas)
criminal court records (e.g. a collection of datasets on violent crimes 1600-1900)
agricultural statistics (prices, output)
surveys of Scottish witchcraft
state finance data
economic indicators/industrial production data
Secondary analysis potential : Secondary analysis potential description
comparative research, restudy or follow-up study
augment data you collect e.g. expand sample size
re-analysis or secondary analysis
research design and methodological advancement
verification
teaching and learning
ESDS: Facilitating greater usage : ESDS: Facilitating greater usage encourage:
researchers to consult existing data sources
use of real data in teaching and learning
make obtaining data more straightforward
promotion… exploit existing and new networks
provide online resources
provide user support and training
Supporting the user : Supporting the user individual support, including help desk, mailing list, discussion lists and newsletters
web-based user guides to the datasets
teaching datasets, online samplers
online workbooks, exemplars and FAQs
workshops and training
Workshops and training programme : Workshops and training programme
service specific and joint workshops
awareness days for new users
thematic data resources events
data confrontation: specific datasets; data handling skills; methodological issues; analytic skills - introductory and advanced level
‘train the trainers’ workshops
online training materials
Teaching materials : Teaching materials tailor-made datasets
guides to using data in teaching
guides to using software and exemplars
X4L project: Survey Data in Teaching: enhancing critical thinking and data numeracy : X4L project: Survey Data in Teaching: enhancing critical thinking and data numeracy uses the study of crime in society to show how existing data sources can be utilised; relevant to a range of social science disciplines
outputs are a variety of free teaching and learning resources relating to social science and statistics. Materials are based on learning strategies that encourage the teaching of research methods within a substantive context:
modules available in a variety of formats:
web-based resources hosted at the UK Data Archive web site
printable and reproducible hard copies (MS Word and Adobe PDF)
MS PowerPoint presentations for slides or handouts
a teachers guide to accompany the resources
teaching and learning modules are designed to be used as part of standard classroom teaching or as additional/self-paced learning activities.
aims to increase the use of real data sources held within the JISC portfolio of HE/FE research and improve the data literacy of students from age 16 up.
Slide42 : Contact
www.esds.ac.uk
help@esds.ac.uk
ESDS FAQ: www.esds.ac.uk/about/faq.asp