The Economic and Social Data Service Louise Corti ESDS/UKDA Archives Awareness Day September 2003

1. The Economic and Social Data ServiceLouise CortiESDS/UKDAArchives Awareness DaySeptember 2003

2. What is the ESDS? • new national data archiving and dissemination service, running from 1 Jan. 2003 • jointly supported by: • Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) • Joint Information Systems Committee(JISC) • initial five year funding commitment

3. 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

4. Partners • UK Data Archive, Essex • MIMAS, Manchester • Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR), Manchester • Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Essex

5. UK Data Archive • established at the University of Essex in 1967 by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) • to acquire, preserve and disseminate data for UK higher education • Typically core funded in 3-5 years blocks • Celebrating 35 years of data service provision

7. Sources of data Data for research and teaching purposes and used in all sectors and for many different disciplines • official agencies - mainly central government • international statistical time series – World Bank • individual academics - research grants • market research agencies – eg GALLUP polls • public records/historical sources • links to UK census data • qualitative and quantitative (numbers and text) • access to international data via links with other data archives worldwide

8. Survey data • Generally numeric data derived from questionnaires • Answers provided are coded • male = 1 and female = 2 • Entered into a spreadsheet • where row = person and column = coded answer • Analysed with specialist analysis software

9. UKDA Collection • 4,000+ datasets in the collection • 250+ new datasets are added each year • 2000+ orders for data per year • 6500+ datasets distributed worldwide p.a. • Staff of over 55 • 450 GBytes of digital storage with capacity for more than 6,000 GBytes • (GB – 1000 megabytes) • Growing by about 80GB per year • Not yet lost any data!

10. Incoming Media • Paper based • Punched card, paper tape or manuscripts • Magnetic • Various reel-to-reel and cartridges • Optical • e.g WORM, CDROM • Rescue methods and services

11. Standards • Convert data and documentation to platform and software independent formats and media to maximise long-term utility • BS7799 - Information security • Machine room conforms to main fire and environmental control standards

12. Specialist data services • ESDS Government • ESDS International • ESDS Longitudinal • ESDS Qualidata Greater emphasis on: • value-added data and documentation • improved web-based delivery services • helddesks • online support materials and training programme • outreach and promotion • History data service in-house • (AHDS History)

13. The large-scale government surveys • General Household Survey • Labour Force Survey • Health Survey for England/Wales/Scotland • Family Expenditure Survey • British Crime Survey • Family Resources Survey • National Food Survey/Expenditure and Food Survey • Survey of English Housing • British Social Attitudes • National Travel Survey • Time Use Survey

14. Benefits of the large-scale government datasets • Good quality data • produced by experienced research organisations • usually nationally representative with large samples • good response rates • very well documented • Continuous data • allows comparison over time • data is largely cross-sectional • Hierarchical data • intra-household differences • household effects on individuals

15. Percentage of women aged 18-49 cohabiting General Household Survey

16. Source: Richard Dickens, Paul Gregg and Jonathan Wadsworth (2000) ‘New Labour and the Labour Market, CMPO Working Paper Series 00/19 Table 5

17. Longitudinal Data • four main studies, that are primarily ESRC-funded • British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) • British Birth Cohort studies: • National Child Development Survey (NCDS) • British Cohort Study 1970 (BCS70) • Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) • Also possible forthcoming MRC population study datasets – 1946 Birth Cohort

18. British Household Panel Survey • Collected and deposited by the ULSC at Essex • follows the members of 5500 households first sampled in 1991 • interviews conducted annually • become a major resource for understanding the dynamics of British households • coverage includes: • income, labour market behaviour, social and political values, health, education, housing and household organisation • Recently large new samples were introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

19. British Birth Cohort Studies National Child Development Survey (NCDS) • cohort born in a single week in 1958 • data collected at birth & ages 7, 11, 16, 23, 33, 42 • become 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

20. British Birth Cohort Studies Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) • the latest of the birth cohort studies, focusing on children born in 2000 and 2001 • first sweep of data collected when children were aged 9 months • second sweep collects data when the children reach 3 years • the MCS will make a major contribution to understanding children and families in the UK

21. 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 • Helping users use collections

22. 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 • Multi-media: audio, video, photos and text(typically transcriptions) • Formats: digital, paper, analogue audio-visual • Data structures - differ across different ‘document types’ • Scope for re-use across different disciplines

23. ‘Classic’ datasets • Paul Thompson – oral history and Edwardians • Peter Townsend – Poverty and old age • F Bechhofer, J Goldthorpe, D Lockwood and J Platt – Affluent workers • Stan Cohen– Mods and rockers and long-term imprisonment • Brian Jackson – education and the working class

24. Contemporary datasets • Large in-depth interview studies • Focus groups • Mixed methods studies • Cover many research disciplines/topics

25. Secondary analysis potential • description • comparative research, restudy or follow-up study • re-analysis or secondary analysis • research design and methodological advancement • verification • teaching and learning

27. Edwardians Online – Phase I Creation of a digital multimedia resource that integrates a wealth of existing primary and secondary materials: • a catalogue of 444 interview summaries • 5 full electronic interview transcripts • thematic browsing of interview transcripts • a collection of digital sound clips • a set of contextual images of Edwardian life • background information and press reviews on the original Paul Thompson study • details of publications based upon secondary studies of the collection • an account of the digitization methodology

28. EDWARDIANS WEB DEMO

29. Accessing data • Web access to data and metadata • Data are freely available for the majority of our users • Data supplied in a variety of formats • statistical package formats (eg spss) • databases and spreadsheets • word processed documents • pdf documents

30. Online access to data and user guides • Web pages - easy to navigate format • Web catalogue with variable level searching • Subject browsing - eg major series and geo web pages • Access to online doc - pdf user guides and forms • Registration • One off registration with userid/password • Online account management and “Shopping Basket” ordering • Data Download • Web Download in 3 software formats • NESSTAR - browsing metadata and exploring data

31. UKDA WEBSITE DEMO • Search/browse data • Documentation • Download • Ordering

32. Web front page http://www.esds.ac.uk/

33. 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)

34. Other good online UK social science resources • QBANK www.qb.ac.uk • SOSIG www.sosig.ac.uk • RDN www.rdn.ac.uk

35. Data creation and deposit: best practice • Early advice to data creators: • high quality data and documentation • consent and ethical issues are taken on board • Intellectual property rights considered • Promoting standards in: • research design • transcription techniques • data and project management • documenting data collection & analysis

36. Facilitating greater usage Aim to 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 support and training

37. Contact www.esds.ac.uk help@esds.ac.uk ESDS FAQ: http://www.esds.ac.uk/about/faq.asp