CSDA – website
Hosting institution: Institute of Sociology, CAS
CSDA is a Czech national resource centre for social science research, which acquires processes and archives datasets from social research and makes these data publicly available for purposes of secondary analysis in scientific research and training at universities. CSDA is also the national node of the pan-European distributed research infrastructure CESSDA ERIC (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives European Research Infrastructure Consortium) and the CESSDA Service Provider in the Czech Republic. CESSDA ERIC creates a comprehensive and integrated European system of social data services based on collaboration among national data archives. The access to research data and their re-use in research is crucial for efficiency and further development of social sciences in the European Research Area. Sharing digital data among research teams is maintained by centralised services of data archives, which provide fundamental background for empirically oriented research and longitudinal and cross-national comparative analysis. CSDA has established, maintains and continually develops an extensive library of data collections from different data producers. These data collections are available to researchers and students via on-line system allowing searching, browsing, analysing, visualising and downloading of data and related study materials. The archival and information system ensures long-term preservation and availability of data. In addition, CSDA provides technical and organizational background for large-scale survey research programmes, e.g. Czech participation in the ISSP (International Social Survey Programme) and also promotes secondary data analysis by reviewing data resources, providing the data quality analysis, conducting research in data harmonisation and providing training in the field of data management and data analysis.
Future development
CSDA is the only national social science data archive in the Czech Republic. Its development strategy is targeted towards ensuring the long‐term provision of data services in social sciences in the Czech Republic in conformity with OECD and EU principles for access to research data along with the ongoing long-term assurance of integration of Czech national data services into the CESSDA pan-European system. The data library is systematically being expanded taking into consideration its multidisciplinary nature as well as emerging so called new data. Technical development of an enhanced high quality national data service is aiming to implement policies of cooperation within the CESSDA framework. Activities supporting data sharing, use of secondary data analysis and Czech participation in international social research programmes will be further developed and expanded.
Socio-economic impact
Availability of relevant social science data is a critical precondition for development of evidence based policies with clear implications for national competitiveness and quality of life in the Czech Republic. Data driven social research contributes to conceptual solutions in domains as diverse as demographic development, social inequalities, human capital development and educational systems, migration, labour market, environmentally friendly society, behavioural aspects of health, social aspects of security and many others. The availability of internationally comparable data improves conditions for comparative research vis-à-vis the obligations associated with membership of the Czech Republic in the EU and other international organisations. The availability of data services increases the quality of education at universities by making it possible to use real research data in teaching.
