Studying the History of Social Science Data Archives as Knowledge Infrastructure
Date
2016Author
Downey, Greg
Eschenfelder, Kristin R.
Shankar, Kalpana
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We map out a new arena of analysis for knowledge and cyberinfrastructure
scholars: Social Science Data Archives (SSDA). SSDA have influenced the international
development of the social sciences, research methods, and data standards in the latter half of
the twentieth century. They provide entry points to understand how fields organise themselves
to be ?data intensive?. Longitudinal studies of SSDA can increase our understanding of the
sustainability of knowledge infrastructure more generally. We argue for special attention to
the following themes: the co-shaping of data use and users, the materiality of shifting revenue
sources, field level relationships as an important component of infrastructure, and the
implications of centralisation and federation of institutions and resources. We briefly describe
our ongoing study of primarily quantitative social science data archives. We conclude by
discussing how cross-institutional and longitudinal analyses can contribute to the scholarship
of knowledge infrastructure.
Subject
social science data
knowledge infrastructure
data sharing
data archive
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/74287Type
Preprint
Citation
Cite as: Shankar, K.; Eschenfelder, K.R.; Downey G. (forthcoming) Studying the History of Social Science Data Archives. Science and Technology Studies.
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