Chapter 1: Data Archives - a Quick Introduction

This chapter gives a quick introduction to what data archives are, why they exist, and what their mission, function, and way of operating is. The chapter is a preface to the rest of the DAG and structured as a set of basic important questions (Q1-Q11) about social science data archives, which are each answered briefly and succinctly.

Every section contains a “Find out more about your archive” section, which contains questions you can ask your colleagues or otherwise investigate to find out more about the specific context of the archive. Some sections also contain Expert tips pointing to useful materials or approaches related to the topic.

The scope of this guide is the archiving of research data. Please keep in mind that when we write “data archive”, you should interpret this within the context of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) research data and their role in the transition towards Open Science. You can read more about FAIR data in Chapter 5 of the DAG and 'DMEG - Chapter 1 Plan' (CESSDA Training Team, 2017 - 2022).