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Australian Social Science Data Archive (1981 - )

Australian National University

From
1981
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Alternative Names
  • ASSDA Central Node (Also known as)
  • ASSDA-ANU (Acronym)
Url
http://assda.anu.edu.au/
Summary

The Australian Social Science Data Archive (ASSDA) is a consortium of leading national Australian universities, managed by the Australian National University (ANU). ASSDA was established at the ANU in 1981 with a brief to provide a national service for the collection and preservation of computer readable data relating to social, political and economic affairs and to make these data available for further analysis. In 2009 ASSDA's social science data collection comprised of around 2500 data sets, including Australian surveys, opinion polls and censuses, and data from other countries within the Asia Pacific region.

Details

ASSDA provides specialist services within specific subject areas, including Indigenous studies, electoral behaviour, criminology and some humanities disciplines, and within specific data types, including, quantitative, qualitative, time series and panel data, and historical statistics. As well as the central management at the ANU, archive nodes have been progressively established across the country. In 2009 these included The University of Queensland, The University of Western Australia, the University of Technology, Sydney and The University of Melbourne. These nodes provide a national coverage of specialist services and thematic archives with particular foci. The ANU Supercomputer Facility provides the online data services and supporting infrastructure, and develops this cyberinfrastructure for the needs of the consortium.

ASSDA collects data files from all parts of Australia, and from many different types of organisations, including universities, market research companies, and government organisations, and provides a "one stop shop" for data acquisition and distribution via web based services.

ASSDA is a member of the International Federation of Data Organisations (IFDO) through which it maintains contacts with data organisations abroad that are actively engaged in providing the social science community with computerised data and documentation. Within Australia, ASSDA has nodes located in each state that provide stewardship and outreach services to local communities.

Sources used to compile this entry: Australian Social Science Data Archive (ASSDA) Website, The Australian National University, 2006?, http://assda.anu.edu.au/.

Prepared by: Rachel Tropea

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