Encyclopedia of Sociology

DATA BANKS AND DEPOSITORIES

over 15 years-old. The aim of these comparative
surveys is to learn about the attitudes of European
citizens on some broad interest topics. Questions
regard public attitudes toward European integra-
tion, but sometimes also address specific problems
of a single country or more generally economic,
political, and social conditions. Two important
functions of Eurobarometers are: being cross-na-
tional and easily comparable surveys, they helped
integrate social research throughout Western Eu-
rope; and, they allowed (and still allow) analysis on
social changes in Western Europe. As a matter of
fact, there is no survey similar to eurobarometers
in what concerns a regular check over time (more
than 20 years to date) and space (every single
European country). Eurobarometers are now at
the disposal of the academic community thanks to
the ICPSR and the ZA of Koln.

The International Social Survey Program. The
International Social Survey Program (ISSP) com-
bines a cross-national survey with a longitudinal
time dimension by replicating particular question
modules, ideally in five year intervals. The first
survey on the ‘‘role of government’’ started in
1985 in four countries (the United States, Great
Britain, West Germany, and Australia). Since then
the ISSP has grown rapidly and now covers more
than 30 countries around the world, including
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia,
Poland, Russia, and Slovenia. Topics of the ISSP
have included social networks (1986), social ine-
quality (1987, 1992), family and changing gender
roles (1988, 1994), work orientations (1989, 1997),
religion (1991), and environment (1993). Role of
government was replicated in 1990 and 1996. The
official data archive of the ISSP is the ZA, which
makes the integrated data sets available via the
archival network.

DEPOSITED, ACCESS PROCEDURES

AND USE

The existence of SSDA in Europe and in the
United States has had a positive effect on the
scientific community because SSDA allow access
to some data that is particularly useful in second-
ary analysis. In other words, researchers can col-
lect and use data from different surveys (with
particular hypothesis and conceptual frames) to
support their own works.

SSDA vary on the type and volume of data that

is held and delivered and on the exact services

offered. The data differ within and between SSDA

in terms of subject matter, time period, and geo-

graphical area covered. The data may be individu-

al or aggregate, and the variables may be cross-

sectional or time series and suitable for compara-

tive or longitudinal analysis, or both. Charging

policies differ from one SSDA to the next and

depend upon the type of service being provided,

the specific data set demanded, and the institu-

tional affiliation of the requester.

Many data formats are used by SSDA to pre-

serve and deliver the data that is increasingly

required to be machine readable, and there is also

an increasing demand for the archiving and dis-

seminating of machine-readable metadata.

Despite the heterogeneity of SSDA, there are

common goals and tasks. Although we know more

about the SSDA in Western Europe, we hope to

represent all SSDA in the following list of goals

and tasks:

• To promote the acquisition, archiving, and
  distribution of electronic data for social
  science teaching and research and to
  exchange data and technology;


• To exploit the potential of the Internet by
  the expansion of web-based services and
  the improvement of dissemination to allow
  users more direct and immediate access to
  the data;


• To develop and use metadata standards
  for the management of data;


• To provide users access to comparative
  data and to multiple data sources across
  national boundaries;


• To allow users to receive all or subsets of
  data via download or on portable media in
  one of a number of formats;


• To extend the users’ base beyond tradi-
  tional boundaries;


• To better serve the needs of an increasing
  number of novice users, particularly in
  terms of data analysis software and im-
  proved searching aids through the devel-
  opment and use of social science thesauri
  and user-friendly interfaces.