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IASSIST Quarterly Summer 2001 29

The first Internet connection in Latvia
was created in 1991 during the so-called
“putsch” when the connection via satellite
from the University of Latvia to Sweden
was the only mean of communication
with the outside world. Since then the
Internet has been developing in Latvia.
Still there is a shortage of public financ-
ing and IT specialists that hinders further
progress in this area. In 1999 “The National Program of
Information” and in 2000 a social and economic program
“e-Latvia” were approved. The aim of those and several
other specific programs is to promote the establishment of
the national information structure.

The number of Internet users in Latvia at the end of 2000
was approximately 150 thousand, i.e. 10% of working age
population. Internet access is available in 14% of schools
and only 5% of public and research libraries. There is also a
great lack of computers and still more money is spent on
buying hardware than on purchasing software. At the same
time the number of Internet users was 50% more that at the
beginning of 1999 and the number is increasing rapidly
(Economic Development of Latvia. Report. Ministry of
Economy, Republic of Latvia, Riga, December, 2000, p.92
- 93). Still we are far from reaching the standards of the
leading countries where 60% of population are IT users.

All the above mentioned problems affect the development
of the electronic archiving and exchanging of data in
Latvia. The establishment of an electronic on-line archive
reflects a general trend to move away from paper-based
information exchange among the researchers who special-
ize in social sciences and humanities. Compared to tradi-
tional archives, the development of electronic data bases
and other electronic services do not develop dynamically in
Latvia. There are several reasons for it:

1. The results of many social studies in Latvia are
preserved only partly, but due to the insufficient
documentation the use of them is very limited.
2. Even sufficiently documented data are
accessible only to specialists, as the use of them
requires expensive software.
3. The opportunities of scientists to inform the
society on the results of their research and the

opportunities of the society to obtain
the necessary social information are
limited.

The Latvian Social Science Data Archive
(LSZDA) is currently being developed
with the financial support of the Latvian
Science Council (the program ‘Social
Development and Social Security’, grant

No. 93.330) and the SOROS Foundation - Latvia (Transfor-
mation of Education Program).  Compared to other data
archives, the technical aspects of the LSZDA are, for
financial reasons, rather limited.

The LSZDA is supposed to serve the following purposes:

1. to gather and maintain social science data that
characterize Latvia and the Latvian social
scientists;
2. to facilitate the development of the Latvian
social sciences and to open access to research
results, facilitating the dissemination of data and
documentation;
3. to make data available for secondary analysis,
to improve the quality of research and the
credibility of results;
4. In the area of educational aspects, to serve as an
information base for training in the social sciences
as well as to provide the analysis opportunities of
the sociological data to a broader range of users.

These activities will facilitate the more efficient disposition
of resources that are granted for research purposes. The
archive also tries to provide Latvian scientists and other
interested parties with access to data archives in other
countries, as well as provide foreign researchers with
opportunities to learn more about Latvia and its social
sciences. At the present moment a number of articles
(mostly in English) is available. The publications of the
Latvian social scientists who worked outside Latvia during
the Soviet occupation are represented very widely in the
bibliographic file which has more than 1,000 entries
covering the time period from the beginning of the 20th
century to the 1980ies. There are no limitations for access
and all information is available free of charge.

The Latvian Social Science Data Archive

by Ausma Tabuna 1



30 IASSIST Quarterly Summer 2001

Until 1999 the data collections were accessible only to
authorised people who used SPSS software. One of the
urgent tasks of the archive was to create a data analyses
possibility for a broader range of the people concerned and
especially for the students of sociology and other social
sciences. In 1999 the data documentation system of the
Swedish Social Science Data Service (Gothenburg) was
mastered, which allows the analysis of the data collections
to those users who have no access to the SPSS software.
These data collections can be processed on-line or by
maintaining them on a CD-ROM for the users without any
background knowledge.  In 1999 the data from three
modules of the International Social Survey Programme
(ISSP) were documented (National Identity, Role of
Government, Religion), and an agreement has been
achieved on the possibility to use this system for the
documentation of further studies.

Contact: Ausma Tabuna, LSZDA, Akademijas laukums 1,
Riga, LV-1940, Latvia. Phone: +371 7227110, Fax: +371
7210806. Internet: http://www.lszda.lv. E-mail:
ausmat@lza.lv