The UK Data Archive has hosted a
gathering of some of the leading experts in data preservation and access in
Europe.
The CESSDA Expert Seminar 2019 was a two-day event looking
at the tools and services which data archives provide to help researchers use
data.
30 delegates came from universities and archives all over
the continent to share knowledge and learn about issues such as:
- the conditions under which researchers access
data - the tools service providers use when curating
data - metadata – the information provided on what’s
contained in datasets
CESSDA is the Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives, which brings together social science data archives across Europe to
promote the results of social science research and support national and
international research and cooperation. The UK Data Archive was a founding
member of the original CESSDA in 1976, and was an active collaborator in the
formation of the new CESSDA ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium).
Being a member brings us a range of benefits as the different members work
together on projects. In particular, the Archive is currently involved in the
social science and humanities part of the European Open Science Cloud, which
promotes open access to the data from publicly funded research.
Matthew Woollard, Director of the UK Data Archive and UK
Data Service, said, “The UK Data Service is one of CESSDA’s 15 national service
providers, and by collaborating with them we can stay at the forefront of
knowledge and practice in working with data.
“For example, we’re currently working on the Euro Question
Bank which will allow researchers to search for the information they need in
any CESSDA member’s survey holdings. We’re also involved in the CESSDA Metadata
Office, which works to help data archives across Europe to describe their
holdings and make them searchable.”
The meeting was organised by the CESSDA Tools and Services
group, which helps to develop the organisation’s centralised technical
framework of tools and services.