Studying the History of Social Science Data Archives as Knowledge Infrastructure

In this paper, we develop a brief history of Social Science Data Archives (SSDAs) and their implications for evolving scholarship on the sustainability and coordination of contemporary knowledge infrastructures.  We draw upon analyses of institutional and policy documents and interviews from active SSDAs as well as field level analyses of professional societies for staff and representatives of SSDAs.  We examine the history of SSDAs in shaping the social sciences of the latter part of the twentieth century, their strategies for remaining active and relevant through institutional and financial uncertainty, and conclude with implications for current STS scholarship in cyberinfrastructures and open data.