Whether they collect data through regular surveys, such as the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Generations & Gender Programme (GGP), or store and make data available, as AUSSDA does, social science research infrastructures share the goal of ensuring their data is used as widely as possible. Reliable datasets are used to answer scientific questions and open up new fields of research. Outside of academic circles, they can serve as a basis for policy decisions or as a source for journalists.
In order to promote the use of social science data in Austria, the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research has established a coordination group for social science infrastructures. The group has developed projects and initiatives aimed at various target groups, which they have compiled in a joint working paper (in German).
Increased cooperation between these infrastructures forms the basis for planned or already implemented activities that contribute to the greater reuse of social science data:
- Register and survey data will be better linked to allow for new scientific findings.
- Dashboards for data visualisation are to be developed for non-academic target groups.
- To inspire school pupils with an interest in social science topics, a teaching concept based on real data has been developed.
- Work is also underway on teaching datasets and kits to support students with learning empirical methods using research data.
As infrastructures make their services more visible, they strengthen the societal value of social science data.
Link to the working paper (in German): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18865011