Open Data Foundation

IHSN: Principles and Good Practice for Preserving Data

ODaF — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:56:08 +0000

The International Household Survey Network just released a new publication on “Principles and Good Practice for Preserving Data”. This document produced by the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social research (ICPSR) provides basic guidance for managers in statistical agencies who are responsible for preserving data using the principles and good practice defined by the digital preservation community. The guidance defines the rationale for preserving data and the principles and standards of good practice as applied to data preservation; documents the development of a digital preservation policy; and uses digital archive audit principles to suggest good practice for data.

The document is available at http://ihsn.org/home/index.php?q=focus/principles-and-good-practice-preserving-data

ODaF Event: Semantic Statistics, Tilburg University, Netherlands, July 7th-8th

ODaF — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:51:13 +0000

The ODaF Europe 2010 meeting will take place at the Library and IT Services, Tilburg University, Netherlands on July 7th-8th. This year’s theme focuses on the rapidly growing topic of Semantic Statistics. The presentations and discussions will focus on recent activity regarding SDMX, DDI, ISO/IEC 11179, RDF serialization, and the standards and technologies involved in the Linked Data Web.

Due to limited capacity and the large interest on this topic, this event is by invitation only. ODaF members as well as individuals and agencies
(rob.grim@odaf.org). If you are unable attend and wish to submit questions, ideas or suggestions to the speakers and participants, we encourage you to submit by email to Rob.

Please visit our web site at http://odaf.org/events/odaf_europe_2010.php for further information and agenda.

We would like to express our thanks to our sponsors - Tilburg University, DANS, SURF and LarKC - for their generosity, support and assistance in making this event possible.

World Bank Group Opens Data to All

ODaF — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:51:52 +0000

The World Bank Group today announced that it has thrown open the doors to its statistical databases and is challenging the global community to use the data to create new applications and solutions to help poor people in the developing world.

Recognizing that transparency and accountability are essential to development, the World Bank Group is now providing free, open, and easy access to its comprehensive set of data on living standards around the globe — some 2,000 indicators, including hundreds that go back 50 years. The data will be available in Arabic, French and Spanish in addition to English.

For more information, visit http://data.worldbank.org

New SDMX Users Forum

ODaF — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:22:30 +0000

We are pleased to announce that a new SDMX Users Forum is now available at http://www.sdmxusers.org/forum. The Forum, hosted by the Open Data Foundation, provides a virtual discussion space for individuals and organizations interested in SDMX and/or in the process of implementing SDMX. It is a place where issues, questions, and ideas can be brought forward for discussion by the active SDMX Community and experts.

Workshop on Implementation of DDI3 - Advanced Topics, Nov 2-6, Dagstuhl, Germany

ODaF — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:59:05 +0000

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Workshop on Implementation of DDI3 - Advanced Topics
November 2-6, 2009
Schloss Dagstuhl, Wadern, Germany

Goals
The goal of this symposium-style workshop is to produce a detailed use case literature covering the technical aspects of DDI3 implementation. Some selected exploratory topics like interoperability with other domains and technologies will also be examined.

Description of the Workshop
Implementations and planned implementations will be presented by a number of attendees and discussed by other presenters and invited experts. This workshop provides an opportunity to share experiences with other advanced implementers of DDI3 and experts in the DDI3 technical specification, obtain a real time peer review and create the beginnings of a strong use case literature for DDI3 implementations. The hosts and participants in the workshop are expected to look critically at the use cases presented and provide any input that is appropriate.

Expected Results
Use cases discussed at the workshop will be written up and published in the new DDI Alliance On-line Working Paper Series.

Venue
The workshop will take place at the Leibniz Center for Informatics, Schloss Dagstuhl, Wadern, Germany. The non-profit centre is a member of the Leibniz Association and is funded jointly by the German federal government and a number of state governments. The venue provides an intense working atmosphere in a nice remote region. Several seminar rooms and cafeteria while the day, and leisure rooms like wine bar and billiard room while the evening promote intense discussion and communication. Accommodation costs at Dagstuhl including full board is 60 Euro/day/person (subsidized rate). The maximum number of participants is 21 people.

Sponsors
This workshop is sponsored by the DDI Alliance, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Minnesota Population Center (MPC), and Open Data Foundation (ODaF).

Contact
The names of interested organizations and individuals should be sent to ddi-expert-workshop@icpsr.umich.edu. Please provide contact information, area of interest, and area of expertise for each individual, information regarding DDI 3 implementation, and a statement of what each individual can contribute to the workshop. Any questions regarding this event should be directed to ddi-expert-workshop@icpsr.umich.edu.

Links
Related Web page: http://www.dagstuhl.de/09452
Further information on “How to get to Dagstuhl”: http://www.dagstuhl.de/ueber-dagstuhl/anreise/
Pictures of Dagstuhl: http://www.dagstuhl.de/ueber-dagstuhl/presse/downloads/

We would appreciate hearing soon from interested people.

Mary Vardigan, Director DDI Alliance
Wendy Thomas, Chair DDI Technical Implementation Committee
Achim Wackerow, Vice Chair DDI Technical Implementation Committee
Arofan Gregory, Technical Consultant
(Organizers)

New ODaF working paper on Metadata

ODaF — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:16:46 +0000

We’re please to announce the availability of a new ODaF paper on Metadata recently published in the German Council for Social and Economic Data Working Paper series.

Metadata
Arofan Gregory, Pascal Heus, Jostein Ryssevik
Open Data Foundation (info@opendatafoundation.org)
March 2009

RatSWD
Rat für Sozial- und WirtschaftsDaten / German Council for Social and Economic Data
Working Paper No. 57

Abstract
Metadata, or data about data, play a crucial rule in social sciences to ensure that high quality documentation and community knowledge are properly captured and surround the data across its entire life cycle, from the early stages of production to secondary analysis by researchers or use by policy makers and other key stakeholders. The paper provides an overview of the social sciences metadata landscape, best practices and related information technologies. It particularly focuses on two specifications - the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) and the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange Standard (SDMX) - seen as central to a global metadata management framework for social data and official statistics. It also highlights current directions, outlines typical integration challenges, and provides a set of high level recommendations for producers, archives, researchers and sponsors in order to foster the adoption of metadata standards and best practices in the years to come.

Keywords: social sciences, metadata, data, statistics, documentation, data quality, XML, DDI, SDMX, archive, preservation, production, access, dissemination, analysis

ODaF Europe 2009, Apr 2-3 ,2009, IZA IDSC, Bonn, Germany

ODaF — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:19:29 +0000

We are pleased to announce that the ODaF Europe 2009 meeting will be held at at the International Data Service Center (IDSC) of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany on April 2-3. This regional event is open to all members as well as individuals and agencies interested to learn more about ODaF, get involved in our activities or simply share ideas.

We are a currently finalizing the agenda (see web page for latest version). The theme will focus on metadata in research data centers. The first day will start with a brief introduction of ODaF and an update on our completed, ongoing and planned activities. This will be followed by thematic presentations by participants. The second day will focus on new ideas, suggestions and discussions of the action plan for moving the organization forward in the European region. If you wish to make a short presentation (20′) of your organization’s activities or on a particular topic, please let us know and we’ll do our best to integrate it in the program.

For information and registration, please visit http://www.opendatafoundation.org/events/odaf_europe_2009.php or contact us by email at info@opendatafoundation.org. Participation to this event is free of charge.

For lodging, we have a set of rooms locked in for Apr 1 - Apr 4 at the Bonn Hilton (http://www.hilton.de/bonn) at a preferred group rate of € 115 per night. The location very close to the city center and within walking distance to IZA. However, due to a concurrent World Bank / UNESCO conference, hotel space in the area is very limited and we cannot hold these rooms beyond February 26th. If you wish to confirm a reservation at this rate, do not call the hotel directly. Instead, contact Elke Henn (Event Manager, henn@iza.org, +49 (228) 3894-305) and provide her with your name and travel dates as soon as possible. Note that participants are responsible for their travel and lodging costs, this is not included in the event registration.

We would like to express thanks to IZA’s International Data Service Center (IDSC) for its support and assistance in making this event possible. Looking forward to see you there.

UKDA: Data Management and Sharing

ODaF — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:32:04 +0000

The UK Data Archive would like to announce the release of its new suite of web pages providing guidance on Data Management and Sharing. The pages aim to provide data creators, data managers and data curators with best practice strategies and methods for creating, preparing and storing shareable datasets. Advice has been divided into a number of key areas or modules providing detailed information on each topic. These are:

· Sharing data - why and how?
· Consent, confidentiality and ethics
· Copyright
· Data documentation and metadata
· Data formats and software
· Data storage, back-up, and security

In addition to these web pages, bespoke advice and training are provided by UKDA staff throughout the life span of a research project - from the initial award application, through the data creation phase to the end of the active research phase and to the final storage and dissemination of data. A comprehensive frequently asked questions web page is also available.

See: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/sharing/

A printed brochure is forthcoming which will be ready for our Data Sharing event on 13 March 2009 (http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2140)

The significance of data management for social survey research, Jan 27th, Essex University, UK

ODaF — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:27:14 +0000

The significance of data management for social survey research

Date: 27 January 2009
Location: Seminar Room, SSRC Building, University of Essex

This one-day seminar on 27 January 2009, organised by the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) and the National Centre for e-Social Science
research node on Data Management through e-Social Science (DAMES), will explore approaches to, and resources for, improving standards of data
management in the social science research process. Here, data management is taken to refer to operations which are typically conducted by social
researchers themselves, and which involve handling and manipulating micro-datasets. These sorts of operation, often referred to as data handling, data cleaning, or matching datasets together, prove in many instances to be a major component of a social research project, yet they are often underestimated by social researchers themselves, and they are rarely the subject of extended methodological attention.

This event brings together speakers from a range of data management services and resource providers including Paul Lambert and Vernon Gayle
of DAMES and representatives from ESDS and the Secure Data Service.

The meeting is free to attend, but places are limited so booking is essential.

Further details including programme and booking form:
http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2151

ODaF Annual Meetings 2008, Washington, DC, Dec 5th

ODaF — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:24:42 +0000

The Open Data Foundation 2008 annual meetings will be held at NORC in Bethesda, MD, USA on Thursday December 5th from 9am to 3pm. All members who are in the Washington DC area during that time are encouraged to participate in person. Virtual attendance will also be possible through conference call. Email info@opendatafoundation.org to register.

This event is made possible with the support of the National Opinion Research Center which has kindly agreed to make its Bethesda office facility available to host the meeting. We are particularly thankful to Dr. Julia Lane and M. Tim Mulcahy for their assistance and support.

For further information, see
http://opendatafoundation.org/events/odaf_annual_meetings_2008.php