Publication and management of Social Science data is gaining wider credence to reflect shifts in government data and journal policies, funder preferences and the recognition that key research outputs include data, workflows, software and grey literature.
The resources on this page are designed to support those in the Social Sciences to take advantage of the growing body of data publication and data management opportunities.
A good starting point for understanding common issues around this topic is the Data sharing and data management in the Social Sciences slide deck by James Banks of the University of Manchester and Institute for Fiscal Studies (2015).
Data policies for Social Science Journals
Most major journal publications now have a data policy which aim to provide linkages between the article and the supporting data. General information on data journal policies can be accessed from the ANDS Data and Journals page and the ANDS Research Data for Journal Editors Guide.
- DA-RT statement (Data Access and Research Transparency) provides information about efforts to increase transparency in social science.
- Major DA-RT initiatives include the genesis of the American Political Science Association's decision to integrate DA-RT principles into its Ethics Guide and the Journal Editors' Transparency Statement (aka JETS) 2014.
- Data-PASS 2016 Clarifying Data citation and Sharing - a Google folder with eight presentations including connecting journals to the dataverse; data management, journal policies; journal workflows; data citation; toward replicable data and more.
Preparing Social Science data for publication
These two guides offer step by step advice on preparing Social Science data for publication:
- ICPSR Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving
- ANDS Guide: Publishing and sharing Sensitive Data
Social Science data repositories and portals
These repositories and portals offer large numbers of Social Science published datasets and collections:
- Australian Data Archive
- Analysis and Policy Observatory (APO)
- Research Data Australia Humanities and Social Sciences collections
- Research Data Australia Cultures and Communities collections
- Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research: ICPSR
- UK Data Archive
- re3data.org
Data management and reuse
Many groups offer specific Social Science data management support and materials, including:
- UK Data Service: Reusing qualitative data
- Research Ethics and new Forms of Data for Social and Economic research (OECD report)
- APO resources on data - lots of grey literature resources relating to social and internet policy on data, cyber security as well as data management
- The Enduring Value of Social Science Research: The Use and Reuse of Primary Research Data - paper by Pienta, Amy M.; Alter, George C.; Lyle, Jared A. (2010) examining the extent to which social science research data are shared and whether data sharing affects research productivity tied to the research data
- ANDS Data management webpages
Australian funders of Social Science research
The Discovery Program Funding Agreement for schemes commencing in 2017 and 2018 contains key reporting and data management requirements. See section 40.6 for Social Science datasets: data should be lodged with the Australian Data Archive.
- ARC data management information
- NHMRC Open Access Policy
- Review of Australian the Code for the responsible conduct of research - note development of Better Practice Guide (June 2017)
Data citation for the Social Sciences
Data citation is now accepted scholarly practice in many disciplines. Social Science researchers should check the Information for Submitters section of journals for updated details on how to cite datasets.
- Australian Data Archive Accessing Data page - includes recommended data citation formats, role of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), and reasons for making data citation a routine scholarly practice in the Social Sciences
- ANDS Data citation for researchers page
- ORCID: Connecting researchers and research - slides from ORCID's Alainna Wrigley on using ORCID in submissions and citation
- Jisc Briefing Document on Data Citations by Cameron Neylon (2016)
ANDS webinars on this topic
Managing provenance in the Social Sciences (15 Mar 2017)
- Nicholas Car, Data Architect, Geoscience Australia - Introduction to PROV (slides) (40 sec summary)
- Steve McEachern, Director Australian Data Archive - Managing provenance in the Social Sciences: The Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) (slides) (36 sec summary)
- George Alter, Research Professor, ICPSR - Documenting data transformation (65 sec summary)
- Full recording (54 min)
Managing and publishing sensitive data in the Social Sciences (29 Mar 2017)
- George Alter, Research Professor, ICPSR - Sharing confidential data (slides) (19 sec summary)
- Steve McEachern, Director Australian Data Archive - Managing sensitive data at the Australian Data Archive (slides) (20 sec summary)
- Full recording (62 min)