r·cade: the Resource Centre for Access to Data on Europe

Sharon Bolton, r·cade Information Officer, Tel: 01206 872569     sharonb@essex.ac.uk     (The Data Archive, University of Essex)

Ariadne 1997
(ReLIS:doi:doiari:y:1997:i:10:p:21)

Abstract:

In spite of closer European integration and significant and rising levels of interest in European information and data from users in all sectors, especially higher education, the supply of information is still sporadic, and access is often difficult. Certain research funds within the social sciences are increasingly now targeted towards comparative research projects which cover at least three European countries, so availability of suitable statistical data and other information has become essential. The r·cade project was set up to improve access to these European (and other international) data, and address the surrounding issues, for example: the negotiation of contracts with data providers, the acquisition, documentation and preservation of data, and the development of suitable documentation for data users. The lack of cohesion within the field of European data had been previously noted at an international level, and this helped form the rationale behind the establishment of r·cade: "The European data base is not well integrated; large scale research is hardly co-ordinated; measurement instruments and data representation lack compatibility; data access and data protection regulations differ, and even information about the availability of information is not easy to obtain. In short, the criteria for efficient organisation of data bases have hitherto been defined from a national perspective, and, even within nations, there is little co-ordinated data resource management." European Science Foundation, 1992

Keywords: Web-based resources, digital library tools
Note: Sharon Bolton describes r·cade, an interdisciplinary resource centre that helps researchers and analysts to identify and acquire data for the European Social Sciences. This article appears in the Web, and not the print, version of Ariadne.
Month: Tuesday July 15th, 1997
Year: 1997

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