The Building of the Archive of Sociological Data

Thanks to the project, SDA has developed into an infrastructure that is able to provide data and other services on a standard level for non-commercial social research and teaching. The project systematically created conditions for activities in the following areas: a) archivation and provision of the data, b) general support of secondary data analyses, c) providing of technical backgrounds for special projects in the area of a comparative research and research infrastructure. There is a variety of data files from finished projects of Institute of Sociology and other institutions stored in the archive. These files have been documented, are protected against damage and are now easy available for Czech and foreigner researchers. An access to the data services on the Internet has been improved and www directory of resources for social analysis, www access to the analytical publications and other services have been launched. Comprehensive set of publications about the social research and data sources has been created during the project, especially quarterly published bulletin SDA Info. A course regarding Social data archives was prepared and run for graduate students at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Presentations and seminars about data services were organised. Technical background for international comparative projects (especially ISSP) was provided. SDA became an important source of materials for university programs in social sciences and a new channel for communication between Czech and international scientists. It provided a basis for future projects that will help to create infrastructure and will support scientific research. Activities that were developed during the project are of permanent character. SDA is a source of data, scientific information and related services. Simultaneously, it enables the further usage of products of finished research projects. The archive increases the return on investment in social research.