Advances in Data Preservation: The Roper Center Archive Approach Cynthia Teixeira The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research University of Connecticut IASSIST Conference 2003, Ottawa, Canada
Overview Introduction to Center Challenges to the Archive Pilot Project Multi-Track Approach Current Status of the Archive Future
The Roper Center Purpose –To acquire and preserve public opinion data and relevant documentation –To make available the data for secondary analysis –To provide support in the use of these data Introduction to the Roper Center –Founded just after World War II –Largest archives of public opinion data ~8000 US studies ~7000 Foreign studies
Archive Challenges Mainframe computing Quality of documentation and the variety of formats (Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, ASCII text, OSIRIS codebooks, paper) Various data formats (Column binary, flat ASCII, SPSS) Identity items included in the data files Incomplete catalog records
Pilot Project Fortune Magazine Collection –Begin in Spring 2000 –75 studies from Reasons for choosing the collection –Column binary data –Condition of the documentation –Number of studies
Multi-Track Approach Conversion of all documentation to electronic files Addressing concerns about data confidentiality and responsible use Converting older data format files to more standard formats Improving catalog records for each study
Completed Data Collections ABC/Washington Post American Soldier Surveys Associated Press CBS News/New York Times Gallup/Cable News Network/USA Today Gallup News Service NBC News/Wall Street Journal Princeton Survey Research Associates (PSRA) Fortune Magazine Roper Reports Yankelovich Partners
Status of the US Archives, January 2003
Future Archival Developments Standardization of all studies within the Archive IP authentication DDI implementation Implementation of Express data set download Acquisitions