IA3SIST Newsletter, Vcj.. 2, lie. 2 (Sprin.j 197d) THE RCPER CENTEh: CEVELCPriENI OF k NEW ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL FOR DAIA ACCi/SS by William J. Gairinell The University or Concecticut WHAT IS THE ROPER CiNTEH: Esta a jo, t search ter , In largest data in and su over 9, ried ou have be Between ciai themsel source ices of dupiica or spec ti.an UO researc of the Associa members tlished he Roper Center (n c.) is to archive the worl pporting d DO invidi t in more en deposit two and scientists V€S of th ty request the Cente tion, inf ific data colleges, h organiza Internatio tion (ISLA hip ara of thir Publ ow T aay of d. ocu m vual than ed thre an IS ing r, s orma aaa uni tion nal ) , t the ty-t ic he the samp The eiita stu 7C in t e tn nual rich var uch ticn lysi vers £ a £urv he c Hop wo pini t?ope olde j.e ra tion dies coun he C ousa dat lous as d ret s. itie re m ey L oope er C years en Re- r Cen- st and survey V. data rrom , car- tries , tnter . nd 30- d vail a re- serv- ataset rieval More s, and embers ibrary rative enter. THE ROPER CENTER IN TRANSITION In 1975, the trustees and staff of the Boper Center began to con- sider seriously a major revision of the Center's organizational struc- ture and institutional base. The first action following from this was to establish tne Center in July 1975 as a non-profit corporation rormally governed by a Board of Trustees. At about the same time, discussions were initiated between Center personnel and the officials of a nuirber of American universi- ties about the possibility of a new hosting arrangement. The Univer- sity or Connecticut and Yale Uni- versity entered into such discus- sions with the Roper Center in the fall of 1975, prompte tion 01 Foremos the iud limits do to the Cen tial. accompl its thr the Wi and des sociati tees ca priate the res vane d the new t amo qment to wh devel ter • s Mind ishme ee de lliam irous on wi me t base earch ty o Rope host n g th that at a op an to ful o nts o cades s Col or tn Hi o fee for t univ I CO r Boar ing po em, h ther small arcn its f u f the f the / app lege m a 1 n t a iliacs 1 that he Rep ersity nsider d' s ex ssibii owever e are colle ive su llest signi Cente reciat contri iLing , tiie tne er Cen ations f lora- ities. , was severe ge can ch as poten- ricant r over ive of jtution an as- Tr us- appro- ter IS For the Connect w the p rangemen uld host cialiy a bot:. ew that culd be iaborat sser deg scholar shion . clined t r m a t i o n survey ovide. e Rooer ant " res ntly evo at couii pact, a uld like ir pa icut rospe t t tne ttrac insti soci based ory ree o s wo They o tap and rese Thas C e nt e ource Iving pro nd h to unive ivers disti scie reput „ St t ive t the ce re am pus thei . and the ersit t ste rt, an. ct hro Pop tiv tut al to str n t rki wa ne new arc so via tne Yale of a c ugh wh er Cen e. Ma ions s science a gr ea uctur es he priv n g in nt ea a w sour techno n and acult y n airea n this cial sc e much e one assocsee rsities. ity had nguished nee 3 wi ation fo ill, its leaders advanc search require r social tnat fo Roper y would p i n t h Uni ver Uni ver oopera ter as ny fac hared rese ter ex and ate au a sing model ces of logy compu consia dy sig more ience , value which iated sit/ si ty tl Vi taey es- ulty tne arch tent to i sin j uiar more in- sucii ters ered nif- r e- one and thev witr. Yale Un aether a the social national excellence administra vinced tha cial scien on their c ration of structures ation with host univ signif ican tion. For its part, the U Connecticut in the started making a majo this sector of soci through the development data facility. The So Data Center (SSDC), es 1968, had assumed a c in both social science research at the instit 1976^ it had acguired stafr of twenty profe and women comprising skills and experience to a partnersaip with Center. The SSDC would "in-place" structure offer immediate aid in ment of the Roper f which would itself ben from a hosting arrange archive of tne scope tional associations or Center . bro fac th a r s fac we emen and d th la rmax Cent cons IS ught to- ulty in n inter- cholar lyulty and re con- t of so- teaching e elabo- boratory associ- er as a titute a elabora- niversity or late 19fa0's r effort in al science of a social cial Science tabiished in entral place teaching and ution. By a competent ssional men many of the appropriate the Roper provide, an which coula the develop- aciiity and ef it great ly ment with an and interna- the Roper Yale and Connecticut approached the possibility of a partnership - 33 - wit., the Hoper Ccntt;r, tner,, as a pitted (see "News and Notes" m natural txtendion or jxai.s ai.o co.ii- tms issue of the Newsletter., liiitaents wl.iCi. haa taKer. shape over a perioi; or time. Ii. additioi. to this, faculty at the two scnools shared strongly the judgments of ADVANTAGES OF THZ RCPER tne Roper trustees taat the re- CENTER search university setting was ap- T^IUT^lN 12 ATIQN AND propriate to zurtner Center devel- El^nSk^Il?! opuent, and that the two schools were well placed to provide the The Roper Center will be able to kind or assistance that the Center function more effectively in its required. T.iey would De able to new setting than it has been able maRe a contribution to social sci- to in the old one. We identify the ence nationally and inter nat icnally following gains as the most impor- throaga provision of expanded fac- tant. uity expertise ana tecnnicai facil- ities. It appeared, then, that a hosting arrangement with the Roper Center would mean a happy marriage Access to impro ved techn ical of legitimate institutional inter- "Facilit ies ests and the reguirements of an im- portant Eociaj. science resource. The Poper Center requires so- phisticated computational tacili- Ey late fall, 1975. Connecticut ties. As a result of the move, it and Yale had agreed tnat their in- has full access to the Yale and vitation to the Roger Center would University of Connecticut computer be a joint one. it was felt that centers. to all of the software in such a cooperative venture would place at those facilities, and to represent a sensible utilization of the technical staffs associated the resources of two neighboring with them. (Both Centers, it might schools. Yale and Connecticut fac- be noted, have fully compatible, ulty consiaered their institutions same-generation IB;] computers.) In well matchea in resources, in at- addition, the technical services tainments. in interests, and con- staff of tne Social Science Data cludea tnat their closeness geo- Center, is available to assist the grapiiically woula make for an easy Roper Center ii. a number of ways, collaboration. The further devel- For one thing, it will be possible opmeiit of the Roper Center would to achieve "economies of scale" require all that both institutions wnich are so important. It has ac- would be able to contribute and cess to staff help enabling it to would be advanced especially by the respond to the directions in which fact that the contributions or the tne user community is likely to two schools would be, to such a proceed in the future. striking extent, complementary rather than overlapping ana redun- dant. Ill^ DS^ aiililli§l£3tive arrangements In late 1976, the administration of Williams College expressed its We are confident that the new support for the new hosting ar- aaministrati ve arrangement will rangement and its desire to re as- work effectively, and that it rep- sociatea with it, ana all cf tne resents the best possible arrange- necessary elements were in piace. ment for attaining a variety of Meeting on February 2, 1977, with quite disparate objectives. First, representatives of Yale, Connecti- it was considered essential that cut and Williams, the Roper Center the place of the Roper Center as a Hoard of Trustees forirally approved repository for commercial survey the move and reorganization. The data -- foreign and domestic -- be trustees of tne tnree institutions maintained. Tne various commerical separately endorsed the new -jart- survey firms have looked upon Roper nersi.ip. " as "their own," and this encouraged them to contribute to the Center. The Rccer Center it now an inde- On the Roper Board of Trustees have penaent corporation in formal part- sat Burns W. Roper of the Roper Or- nership witn the University of Con- ganizaticn, George Gallup or the necticut, Yale University, ana American Institute of Public Opin- Wiiliams College. Divisions cf re- ion, Wiiliam J. Wilson of sponsibility have been agree.^ upon- St arch/INR A/Hooper , and other im- Tae develcom^nt or a new staff portant leaders of the survey structure "is proceeding. The world, transiticn or the Archivax Oevolop- ment section to Storrs lo we^x un- Second, we wanted to add to this derway, ana t.ie transfer or User historic element of Roper Center Sfcivices to t\ew Haven i.as been com- organization the skills ana facili- - 39 - lASSIST Mewslatter, Vci. 2, Nc. 2 (Spring 1978) ties of the research university. THE CONTINUED I.'IPORTANCE The absence of this ccmpouent has oF TRITl^OPl!? C'ET^TE'R been a aeciaeJ debit ic past Roper TD THE SOCTIL erforts to service the social sci- l^IiE^^? ence coniirunity. Yalt, as tne set- ting for User Services, is easij.y Impleraent ation or the new or^an- accessicle to scholars from around izational a rrangemer.ts was prili- the world. cated upon the assumption tnat tne, would help an aiready valuable so- ft ccirpiete copy cr the entire cial science instrumentality becom: hoiuings of the Center will be even more important, more success- maintaiced at the University of ful in meeting research and teach- Connecticut, with another conpiete ing objectives of faculty in th ; copy at Yale University. Taere is social sciences. The move to ne no unnecessary duplication here, of facilities at Connecticut and Yali course, because one copy serves as becomes desirable, of course, onl' a backup for the ether. Williams oecause the Roper Center is a valu- College will continue tc house var- able resource, ious portions of the archive it chooses to maintain. The User Tne following is a partial lisi Services Division will be located of some of the archival resource: in New Haven. Requests for the du- available at the Roper Center: plication of data sets, for searches of the archive, ana the 1. It maintains the raw data like, will be the responsibility of {lu reformattea, numeric this staff- The arcuival develop- files) from polls con- ment ccmponent will be housed in ducted regularly by the Storrs. It will bear responsiblity American Institute of for bringing new data sets into tne Public Opinion /The Gai- archive, for interactions with data iup PoliJ . This series suppliers. for reformatting data of nearxv 1,000 studies sets and bringing the data into one dating from 1936 is of various levels cr accesiblity clearly one of the most for most effective utilization. impressive collections of This division of respcnsiblit les is attitude and behavioral an entirely natural one.. The fact data available anywhere that the two schools are separated for the investigation of by a distance of about 50 miles social cnange. should net pose any serious obsta- cles, linkage or the two computer 2. It is the repository for centers will be achieved, and ariv- studies from many other mg time between the two institu- major U.S. polling organ- tions IS just over an hour. An op- izations, including the erating committee, with two Roper Organization, Na- representa ti ves from each of the tional Opinion Research three host scaools, has been estab- Center (NCRC) . Bureau of lished, and it is charged witn co- Applied Social Research, otdinatmg institutional involve- Belden Associates ment. (Texas) , The Minnesota Poll, and dozens more. The Williams College continued These thousands of sur- to bear the major responsiblity for veys are keyed guestion- servicing user requests during the by-question into a ma- transiticn year (July 1, 1977 - chine-retrievable June 30, 1978), although user serv- instrument which makes ices and archival development ac- subject searches effi- tivities now reside ic New Haven cient. and Storrs respectively. But we look to a continued prominent Wil- 3. It annually acquires be- liams role, through such areas as tween 300 and 400 surveys the publications program or the conducted by major non-A- Roper Center, the development of merican research organi- teaching materials and packages zations and the overseas where the standing of Williams as affiliates of U. S. sur- one of the outstanding undergradu- vey groups. Today, ap- ate institutions ir. tr.e country proximately 7,000 non-A- will be a major asset, in tae host- merican survey data sets, ing of special seminars, confer- from 72 different coun- ences, and training programs. tries and dating from 1938, are available througn the Roper Center. These include.' for exam- gle, 275 studies from enmark, 415 from France, 450 from Germany, 900 I,"ijSIST NewSietttir, Vcj.. 1, \