Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving

Inside the Guide

About ICPSR

• Why Should I Archive Data?
• How Do I Deposit Data?
• What Services Does ICPSR Offer?
• Using the Guide

Importance of Data Sharing and Archiving

• Planning Ahead for Archiving and Preservation of Data
• The Data Life Cycle

Proposal Development and Data Management Plans

• Recommended Elements for Data Management Plans
• Other Considerations
• Summary Table: Elements of a Data Management Plan
• An Example Data Management Plan for Depositing Data with ICPSR

Project Start-Up

• Importance of Good Data Management

Data Collection and File Creation

• Best Practice in Creating Research Data
• Quantitative Data
• Qualitative Data
• Other Data Types
• Best Practice in Creating Metadata

Data Analysis

• Master Datasets and Work Files

Addressing Confidentiality Issues

• Respondent Confidentiality

Depositing Data

• File Formats
• Archiving Files from Analysis of Existing or Secondary Data

References

Index