It is essential that researchers and other data producers and users in the social science understand the significance of data archiving. Without active depositors the FSD will not be able to function on a satisfactory level. FSD holds and distributes data under specific licences and agreements. Users of FSD must agree to abide by the conditions stipulated by the depositor with regard to the use of the data. The user, for example, is not allowed to copy the data for other than the approved purposes.
Special attention is paid to the data protection legislation.
FSD's operation is based on carefully planned procedures including technical, legal and ethical aspects of collecting, safeguarding, storing and reusing data. These procedures are approved and controlled by appropriate authorities. Naturally individual confidentiality is always preserved. FSD archives quantitative, machine-readable data covering a broad range of research in the social sciences. There is a great amount of quantitative data collected by researchers, research units at Finnish universities and other Finnish data producers in the area of social sciences for which the FSD is the most natural archiving unit.