A new way to search for data: Discovery is released in beta

Visitors to the ESDS website will now find a new way to search and browse for data collections and other materials.

Discovery, a new faceted search and browse interface, has been released in beta form so it can be improved and refined with user interaction and feedback. It will run alongside the existing Data Catalogue search while it is still in beta; links to Discovery can be found from the Data Catalogue.

The aim of Discovery is to make data discovery easier and more streamlined for all users of the new UK Data Service. Discovery expands not only the ways in which users can search, but also the types of things that they can search for.

It offers visitors the chance to search and browse for a variety of data-related materials:

·         data collections disseminated via the UK Data Service
·         the contents of ESRC Data Store
·         case studies showing how the data have been used
·         support guides showing how to use the data
·         publications and outputs associated with the data

Discovery allows users to browse using filters and offers some new and interesting functions, such as suggestions of other data collections that may be of interest and the ability to move from related data to case studies and support guides. Of course, it is still possible to search in more traditional ways as well.

 

Discovery is still in development and UKDS are very keen to improve it. All comments on any aspect of its functionality or content will be warmly welcomed. Please do tell them what you think, either by email to comms@data-archive.ac.uk or using the feedback form on the Discovery page.

UK Data Service Discovery - beta:  http://beta-discovery.data-service.ac.uk/

Help define the UK Data Service identity: User Survey

The ESRC are establishing a new UK Data Service which integrates several existing services including the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS), the Census Programme and the Secure Data Service.

 

Work is now underway to establish an identity for the new service. To make it a cohesive and meaningful brand, we’d like to hear from data users – those who currently use digital research data, and those who might use it in the future.

 

Below is a link to a short survey designed just for data users. It’s a quick and fun questionnaire – not a research study, but a way to get some initial indications of what you think should characterise the UK Data Service’s ‘brand’. It should take less than 10 minutes of your time, and all responses are anonymous.

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UKdataservice_users

 

Please complete the questionnaire by Sunday evening, 16^thSeptember.

 

Consultation on the Health Survey for England

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has launched a public consultation to seek feedback from users of the Health Survey for England (HSE) on the proposed changes to the smoking module.

The HSE is a series of annual surveys about the health of people living in England. It is a major study in the ESDS (recently refunded as UKDS) catalogue, sponsored by the Department of Health to provide better and more reliable information about various aspects of people's health and to monitor selected health targets.

The modules and questions within the HSE are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they are of most benefit to users. As part of this process, the smoking module was reviewed in 2012, with a view to making changes for the HSE 2013.

The consultation will run for 6 weeks and close on Wednesday 3 October 2012.

Following the consultation period, all comments received by the HSCIC will be considered and decisions will be made on the content of the Smoking Module for HSE 2013 onwards.

·         Full details of the consultation

Announcing the UK Data Service

Continuing access to the most valuable collection of social and economic data in the UK has been secured with a £17 million investment over five years for the UK Data Service.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the new service is structured to support researchers in academia, business, third sector and all levels of government.

The new service, starting on 1 October 2012, will integrate the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS), the Census Programme, the Secure Data Service and other elements of the data service infrastructure currently provided by the ESRC, including the UK Data Archive.

The UK Data Service will provide a unified point of access to the extensive range of high quality economic and social data, including valuable census data. It is designed to provide seamless access and support to meet the current and future research demands of both academic and non-academic users, and to help them maximise the impact of their work.

Full news story:

http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/newsdetail.asp?id=3290

ESRC press release:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/press-releases/22231/new-national-digital-repository-for-social-and-economic-data.aspx