Social Science Data Archives: Case Studies in Data Sustainability

There has been a
sizeable investment in the development of large-scale data and appropriate
infrastructures in the physical and biological sciences and increasingly in the
social sciences and humanities. Concerns about data sustainability have
attracted a great deal of attention as research project data collection
represents a significant investment, and loss of subsequent use of that data
represents a loss of potential value.  In
this poster, we focus on of the most long-lived examples of data archives:
Social Science Data Archives (SSDAs).  SSDAs
provide a long view on these topics as they predate both computers and the
Internet. They also provide a unique opportunity to examine perceptions about
what makes an archive sustainable over long periods of time, through the ups and
downs of funding cycles and massive changes in technical and organizational
infrastructure.  In this study, we report
on preliminary research on the historical, institutional, and operational
dimensions over SSDAs over time.  Drawing
upon analyses of institutional and policy documents and interviews with staff,
depositors, and administrators, this poster briefly discusses current
challenges to SSDA longevity and implications for We describe initial findings
with respect to these two SSDAs and detail next steps in expanding the study
both theoretically and methodologically.