# Presentation: 194289

## ICPSR Collection Development: Lessons Learned & Moving Forward

- NDIIPP Partner Meeting
*Collecting Digital Content Going Forward:*
*      **Lessons Learned and New Initiatives*
- Washington, D.C.
- 10 July 2008

**Notes:**
Our progress report emphasizes: acquisitions & processing work, updated collection development policy, LEADS database updates, new web site release, and joint poll processing arrangements with Roper.

## Overview

- We have been successful at preserving important social science data for decades.
- Yet, important social science data have been lost despite our best efforts.
- We want to leverage the processes we developed in the Data-PASS project to avoid future loss.

**Notes:**
We have been successful at preserving important social science data for decades.  

Yet, important social science data have been lost despite our best efforts.

We want to leverage the processes we developed in the Data-PASS project to avoid future loss.

## Social Science Data Preservation Successes

**Notes:**
Starting with the Census, we have made strides toward preserving important social science data.

## Slide 4

**Notes:**
Social science data archives sprang up, starting in the 1930’s with the Odum Institute.

## ICPSR’s Data-PASS Efforts

**Notes:**
Our goal was to identify, acquire, and preserve classic social science data collections.  To this end, ICPSR targeted NIH and NSF reviewed 330,000+ NIH & NSF funded projects.  We screened all awards and found 10,905 awards that qualified as social science + collected data.  We contacted 6,565 awards with locatable e-mail addresses.

ICPSR contacted PIs from 6,500+ (6,565) of these projects that matched our criteria (social science + data collected).  We wanted to learn about the data – especially the data storage/formats characteristics and if they were still available.

Heard back from close to 40% of PIs (2,368) – pretty good response, which also matches a theme in our work: most PIs express a desire to be “Good Citizens”.  

[Required follow-up (871), bounced (713), no response (2613).]

Among the complete PI responses to our email (n=2368)
65% told us they did collect data!

## Collection Development Successes

- High response rate (44%)
- Most PIs indicated that they wanted to be     “Good Citizens” and help.
- 	“This sounds like an exciting project.”
- 	“I hope your project is successful because 		I think that it is important.”
- 	“Good luck with the project.”

## Collection Development Successes

- Many of the data we have received are    important mid-sized collections, which might not otherwise be collected.
- Around half of PIs still have access to data (49%)

## 57 Commitments to Deposit

- “U.S.-Sweden Cooperative Science: Demographic Change in Nineteenth-Century Sweden” (Katherine Lynch, 1989, NSF #8912792)
- “Studies of the Economic Impacts of Global Environmental Change” (Nordhaus, 1991, NSF #9024860)
- “Social Support and Mental Health in a Black Community” (Dressler, 1980, NIH #1R01MH033943)

**Notes:**
We’ve been busy making regular contacts with PIs (contacted all 400+ potential data depositors), as evidenced by the 50+ commitments to deposit data we’ve received over the last six months.  Examples of recent commitments include....(these represent a mix of types and disciplines, as well as show the benefit of LEADS catching mid-range grants that often slip under the radar).

These data are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines and research topics ranging from numerous empirical observations of American family life and family dynamics across the latter part of the 20th Century to one of a kind explorations of the impact of historical events and natural disasters on human lives.

## Recent Acquisitions

- “Massachusetts Occupational Survey: 1953-1954” (Kahl)
- “Hurricane Andrew: Its Impact on Law and Social Control” (Akers)
- “Attitudes Toward Women and Work” (Huber)

**Notes:**
We’ve also acquired 51 NIH and NSF funded studies (and processed a good number of them).  Some of the more interesting data acquisitions include....Kahl: punched cards, Akers: deposited after lots of communication, Huber: deposited by former doctoral student, who now is mid-career and really pursued us, which was nice.

## Challenges

- “Good Citizens” = high willingness but no time, money, or resources to submit to us.

**Notes:**
Data collections are more than a decade old....

## Challenges

- A good number (24%) of PIs no longer could access their data.

**Notes:**
Data collections are more than a decade old....

## Archival Status/Availability of Identified Data (n=1,668)

## Data Discarded

- “It was just too long ago, I generally keep data for something like 10 years beyond the last time I do something with them.”
- “Data cards were destroyed long after several articles were published from them.”
- “Destroyed, in accord with APA 5-year post-publication rule.”
_**Hardware Problems**_
- “Some data were collected, but the data file was lost in a technical malfunction.”
- “Electronic version was lost in a computer failure.”

## Destroyed for Confidentiality Reasons

- “The material...was considered sensitive data.  Institutional review boards, and the state registry board from which some data were derived required us to promise to destroy the data after a certain period of time, which was done a year or so after publication.”
- “When the project ‘hibernated’ it was eventually decided to destroy the records in order to protect the identities of the subjects. I destroyed the records about a year ago when the building that housed them was torn down....Since I could no longer assure the confidentiality of the records, I destroyed them.”
_**Acts of Nature**_
- “The data from the studies were on punched cards that were destroyed in a flood in the department in the early 80s.”

## Discarded or Lost in a Move

- “The data were on punched cards, which probably were discarded (after a decade or more of non-use) in one of several office moves.”
- “They were all published in journals, and when I moved from [University A] to [University B], I discarded them.”
- “As I retired and gave up my office last year, I disposed of the data tape at that time. Unfortunately, I simply didn’t have the room to store these data sets at my house.”
- “I lost track of them during several moves over the past 20 years.”
- “I had the data (ASCII and SPSS system files) on old floppy discs and they seem to have been lost in a move.”

## Obsolescence 

- “....a good deal of...data from the study were also entered (sometime in the late 1970s) onto the [University’s] mainframe in an early version of SPSS. I sincerely doubt that they are still accessible in electronic form—is there even such a thing as a mainframe any more?”
- “The data were backed up several times using different media, but eventually, the media became obsolete and I did not transfer it to newer technologies.”
- “Speech recordings stored on a LISP Machine..., an experimental computer which is long obsolete.”

## Simply Lost

- “This was a long time ago, university has changed its computer systems several times since. I am not able to locate the data.”
- “I really cannot recall. It was decades ago, and I subsequently moved to new positions in various universities. The records of the responses obtained are forever lost.”
- “I don’t honestly know where they would be now. For all I know, they are on a [University] server, but it has been literally years and years since the research was done, and my files are long gone.”

## Challenges

- Some PIs have data, but data are in obsolete formats, without sufficient documentation, or require massive clean-up.

**Notes:**
Data collections are more than a decade old....

## Proprietary Formats of Data Not Archived

- And Also... .aiff, ArcView (ESRI), ARLEQUIN, ATLAS.ti, AVI, Binary (UWAR format), BMPD, Brainvoyager, Bvh, Coldfusion database, .DAT, Dbase, DICOM, Digital Voice Files, .DSS, E-PRIME, EQS, EVIEWS workfile, FLASH, FSL files, GAUSS, HTML, iMovie, JPG, JMP databases, MAXQDA, Molecular workbench database, MP3, MySQL, NEXUS, .NSP, NVivo, Paradox data files, PHYLIP, QDS, REFLEX, Rich Text Format, SALT transcription format, Sawtooth WinCati, Sequencer, SQL, Statistica, Statmost, STRUCTURE, Systat, Teleform, Trimble Pathfinder spatial coordinate raw data files, TSP, Viso, WordPerfect.

- Last updated 8/17/2007

## Storage Media of Data Not Archived

- Last updated 8/17/2007

- And Also... cassette tape, DAT tape, digital video tape, McBee cards, minidisks, mini digital video tapes, network drive, QIC-80 tape, reel-to-reel audio tape, reel-to-reel videotapes, Sun UNIX network, 16mm film.

## Collection Development Policy Update

## Specific Updates

- Regular harvests of NIH & NSF awards.
- Early, ongoing contact with PIs.
- Outreach & Education.
- Peer Network.

**Notes:**
Outreach: tailor the message + the right people doing the right work.
Peers: use established ICPSR network to contact PIs + 
Pis follow various rules indiscriminately (i.e., IRB roles to discard the data)

## Slide 23

**Notes:**
ICPSR will regularly and automatically harvest relevant NIH & NSF awards into its LEADS database.

## Slide 24

**Notes:**
From there, we’ll screen the awards for social science studies that appear to have collected data.

Studies that match our selection criteria will be immediately contacted.  Since we’ll be harvesting information on a regular basis, we should have almost near real-time snapshots of recent awards, which means we can really start developing relationships with PIs at the very beginning of research projects.  This should help everyone – PIs will get advice, if they want, about data formatting standards (ensuring cleaner data).  ICPSR will have better chance at getting the data once the project is finished.  And the community wins – data aren’t lost due to neglect, obsolescence, etc.

## Outreach & Education

**Outreach & Education**

**Notes:**
Another update on our part to improve our collection development processes is to better match our people with the researchers we’re contacting.  Just like Apple used slick advertisements to target their audience (both existing and potential), we are trying to improve our communication methods and styles.

We’re making a better effort to regularly and actively contact PIs (phone vs. e-mail, extrovert vs. introvert).  

Also, sometimes we just need to find the right person to target the matching audience (another parallel to the PC vs. Mac ad).  

## Peer Network

## Collection Development Policy Update

**Notes:**
Once again, ICPSR is expanding on its successes by working with PIs earlier on in the research lifecycle, by regular harvests of NIH & NSF awards, early, ongoing contact with PIs (using LEADS database), improving our outreach methods and styles, and using our extensive peer network.

## Jared LyleICPSR(734)763.6075lyle@umich.edu

**Notes:**
We are always looking to improve on our successes.  If you would like to share your own experiences or discuss this presentation, please contact me....