CESSDA.CZ The CESSDA Project: Building a CESSDA-ERIC focal point in the Czech Republic and integrating it into the large pan-European research infrastructure of data services for socio-economic research

The main objective of this project is to build the Czech node of the Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA); and to ensure Czech participation in the establishment and operation of this European distributed research infrastructure.

The principal mission of social science data archives is to deposit and preserve electronic datasets from surveys and other types of social research in one single location; and to make them publicly available for secondary analysis. Data archives are considered to be an essential part of a social science research infrastructure. The information value of data usually goes beyond an individual project’s research; and many research studies cannot do without combining multiple data sources. The data are often produced at considerable expense using public funding: thus, it is desirable to maximize their utilization. Archives are also sources of research instruments, fulfil an important functions in the development of methodologies and facilitate access to scientific data for the purposes of higher education. Data archives also provide an important basis for the study of social processes over time, making international comparisons and facilitating international cooperation.

This project has two key goals:

• upgrade social science data services in the Czech Republic and ensure their sustainability,
• allow Czech participation in new pan-European CESSDA infrastructure.

The capacity of Czech data services has been limited, thus many available datasets have not yet been made accessible to research community. This project allows the archive to overcom these limitations efficiently by employing know-how and resources resulting from cooperation within the CESSDA framework. The implementation of international standards (e.g. OAIS principles) and the integration of data services into international networks promotes competitiveness and excellence in Czech social research. The project’s activities are fully in line with the OECD’s Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding (OECD 2007).

Since the 1970s, CESSDA has been a federation of national social science data archives across Europe and currently has 21 members. Collectively they serve over 30,000 researchers, providing access to more than 50,000 data collections per annum. Under the ESFRI process of constructing large research infrastructures, CESSDA is going to build a united European system of data services by connecting up existing national data services. It is based on establishing a distributed research infrastructure preferably in the form of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). This new infrastructure will enable utilization of data resources irrespective of the location of data or researchers in the European Research Area; and will extend the foundations for European comparative research. Simultaneously, international collaboration through the sharing and concentration of resources will strengthen national data infrastructures. 

The Czech node of the new pan-European CESSDA infrastructure will be established at the Czech Social Science Data Archive (CSDA), Institute of Sociology ASCR. CSDA accesses, processes, documents and archives data files from many Czech social science research projects and makes them publicly accessible for the purposes of secondary analysis in academic research and higher education. CSDA was founded in 1998 and is the only infrastructure of its kind in the Czech Republic. It has been a CESSDA member since 2001. This data infrastructure is primarily accessed online, and allows free and open access to datasets for the purposes of not-for-profit research and education.