vol252


22 IASSIST Quarterly Summer 2001

Quantitative research is a standard
instrument for testing hypothesizes, and
in the social science in Slovakia one can
say, a most frequently used strategy for
collecting empirical evidence. The recent
development in the area of information
technology and the advance in computer
assisted statistical analysis, also contrib-
ute much to a considerable increase in the
quantitative analysis of the electronic data.

At present, in Slovakia there are many potential machine-
readable data sources suitable for the secondary analysis.
Data are produced mostly by academic and educational
institutions, institutions of the state administration, for-
profit agencies of public opinion and market research,
different non-for-profit foundations and associations.

At the same time, it is possible to observe a growing
demand for older research data, for example in the aca-
demic environment, forasmuch as a comparative and
longitudinal research design increasingly predominates.
The Institute for Sociology of the SAS is also a member of
several research networks with the focus on a large-scale
comparative research (such as the ISSP - International
Social Survey Program, the EVS – European Value Study
and so on).

Participation in such networks becoming increasingly
important, it enables to evaluate the position of Slovakia
within Europe (with respect to a different subject matters)
in a broader and more complex perspective. Additionally,
the co-operation with the partner institutions leaves space
also for an exchange of the experiences and knowledge,
which, generally, helps to increase professional standards
of the scientific investigations and integrates the Slovak
scientists within the international scientific community.

An interesting example of the transfer of knowledge is a
diffusion of the national data archives within Europe,
during the recent forty years. The main ideas of this
practical endeavor give many inspirations and useful
stimuli to us. This was the starting point to think about the
shift from current informal practice of storing the research
data in Slovakia to more complex and standardized
archiving methods and procedures.

Comparing the benefits of the two
approaches to archiving of the research
data (the informal and the standardized),
there are no doubts about the merits of
the latter. The major benefits of data
infrastructure are particularly on the
following dimensions:

The archive as an instrument for an
easy and independent access to research data
Nowadays, in Slovakia an informal way of the social data
storage is prevailing which makes an access to the relevant
datasets too sensible in respect of time and staff changes in
a research team. To acquire the dataset assumes to make
own search for the history of the relevant research and
search for the datasets in the memory of the researchers,
than contact the research team which produced the relevant
data and negotiate with the researchers about an access to
these data. However, this time consuming activity is still
not the guarantee to get the data in adequate format and
quality, and appropriate for the use in a secondary analysis.

General characteristics of a systematic archiving of
available empirical research data (such as: access to a
catalogue of the primary data containing the sufficient
documentation of the datasets, access to the data itself,
datasets are concentrated in one place and in compatible
formats, quality check of the data, data security – no
inadequate changes or loss of data, transparent rules for
data access, exchange and distribution of the datasets and
so on) sound really promising for the mastering of the
shortcomings mentioned before.

The archive as an instrument for the control and
improvement of the social research
One of the basic ambitions of the scientist is to support his
or her hypothesizes with evidence, and to do it in a clear
and transparent manner. However, there are several
examples of the scientific misconduct in history, that
brought forward the problem of the validity and reliability
in the social sciences. An independent access to the primary
data will enlarge the options for the verification of the
results and the testing research instruments or methods,
employed in the secondary analysis of the research data.
Therefore, the issue of archiving is very topical in Slovakia.

Making use of Data on Social Science in
Slovakia - First steps to a national Data

Archive

by Katarina Strapcova 1



IASSIST Quarterly Summer 2001              23

The archive as an information and communication
channel

The summary of available empirical research data will
provide the users with the overview of the subject areas of
the research in the country and the researchers engaged in
the research projects. This indirect information enable to
establish new contacts within the scientific community and
enhance the direct co-operation in the field of comparative
research.

Newsletters and bulletins, which provide the news about
the current research projects, the supply of available data or
the offers for a co-operation, these all we see as efficient
channels for the information about what has been done and
what is new in the area of the empirical research.

All in all, these are the main characteristics, which draw the
attention to the problem of  the usage of the research data in
Slovakia. The recent practical endeavor in this area results
in the new project proposal of the Institute for Sociology of
the SAS.

The research project ‘The Slovak Archive of Social Data’
will focus on creating a primary data catalogue, and
furthermore on a systematic documentation of the existing
social science datasets. The catalogue of social data will
enable the domestic as well as foreign researchers to
orientate in the field of an existing fund of the Slovak
primary data, and moreover will simplify the access to the
required datasets.

As we are only at the very beginning, we cannot foresee all
the problems connected with the establishing of a data
archive. In the preparatory phase, our endeavor is focused
on increasing the public understanding of the data archive
mission. The task seems simple, we need to inform the
scientific community (via journals, presentations etc.) and
bring the words “archive” and “archiving of social data” in
domestic social research vocabulary. Researchers who
work with quantitative data and are engaged in the com-
parative projects, usually understand, and appreciate the
mission of social data archive. However, there is a†large
group of researchers who are not so familiar with second-
ary analysis, and we need to introduce the mission to them
in more details.

The fact is, that the archiving of the social data has no
tradition in Slovakia and its benefits are not obvious for
everybody. These days, the positive examples of already
established and functioning archives in Europe are greatly
helping to illustrate the actual profits. Later, when the work
on the proposed project will start, the newly established
archive itself should serve as a telling example.

We believe that the integration of the new Slovak data
archive within the existing network of the social science
data archives will open wider opportunities for the co-
operation and exchange of the information within the
scientific community.

1. Contact: Katarina Strapcova, Slovak Academy of
Sciences, Institute of Sociology, Klemensova 19,
Bratislava 81364. Email: Su98@klemens.savba.sk