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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 March 2020
Typical questions
• Is there a central store of qualitative data for the UK?
• I need macro level population data.
Starting points
• Increasing amounts of data are being made available free on the internet. However, students should always be reminded to evaluate sources, dates and coverage. They should also be made aware that many research libraries have older printed materials that are not online and/or subscription services that are more extensive in coverage.
• A basic starting point is to determine whether quantitative or qualitative datasets are required. Quantitative data concerns numeric variables. Good sources are governments and international organisations. Often these are large scale and students may require assistance in understanding and manipulating datasets. The Mathematics chapter has basic advice on this and commercial suppliers or specialist local data librarians may be able to assist. Qualitative data is non-numeric information, which can include interview transcripts, diaries, field notes and audiovisual materials. Sometimes these may be more difficult to trace as fewer are conducted by official bodies and ethical issues may limit access.
• This section provides support in tracing general sources. It includes sections on open data sources and key data archive stores. The subject sections also have statistical data sub-sections. Also related is the Research Data Management chapter for advice on the storage of data.
Recommended resources
Key organisations
DataCite [Specialist]
www.datacite.org
Non-profit organisation of data specialists aiming to improve standards in citing datasets. Includes advice and guidelines on this. Maintains a free register of academic research data repositories: www.re3data.org
IASSIST [Specialist]
iassistdata.org
International membership organisation designed to support data specialists. Good for locating news and training on ethical and technical issues relating to data management. End user training is often offered by the Data Archives.
Open data
Figshare
figshare.com
Free open access repository where researchers can register and share research outputs including qualitative and quantitative data. Also includes materials from major commercial publishers.
Zenodo
zenodo.org
Open access data repository maintained by CERN designed for researchers to upload and share their data. Users can search the catalogue and get free access to high quality examples including many funded by the EU.
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