Infrastructuring Social Science Data Archives: The Role of Field Level Organizations

Abstract

This paper examines the coordination work involved in maintaining data infrastructures in the social sciences by examining the role of field-level organizations. Part of a larger study of the history and sustainability of social science data archives as information infrastructure, this paper briefly analyzes the role of three meta-organizations IASSIST, IFDO and CESSDA and how they have enabled collaboration and communication among Social Science Data Archives (SSDA) over decades and discusses implications for understanding other social science infrastructures.