On-line training in Research Data Management

The Research Data Management Training, or MANTRA project has produced an open, online training course to help disseminate good practice in research data management at the University of Edinburgh and beyond.

What is it?

It is a non-credit, free online course which provides guidelines for good practice in research data management. It consists of interactive online units focused on key concepts of data management. They include video clips featuring senior academics talking about data management challenges. In addition there are practical exercises in handling data within four software analysis environments (SPSS, NVivo, R and ArcGIS), which learners can download and work through at their own pace.

Who is it for?

It is for PhD students, early career researchers, and all others who are planning a research project based on digital data. The course is an Open Educational Resource that may be freely used by anyone. It is available through an open license for rejigging, rebranding, and repurposing.

Who produced it?

The Data Library team at EDINA produced the materials over the course of the past year as part of the JISC Managing Research Data programme. They worked with the School of Social and Political Studies, the School of GeoSciences and the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology to target the resources towards their doctoral training programmes. The Data Library at the University of Edinburgh has been providing research data services to staff and students for over twenty-five years. The data handling software practicals were written by expert data analysts in each software domain. The online module was created using Xerte Online Toolkits, an open source authoring tool.

For more information, see the course website: http://datalib.edina.ac.uk/mantra

Eurostat microdata now free

As of the 1st April 2011 Eurostat have decided to stop charging for their microdata resources. Anonymised versions of the EU Labour Force Survey, the Survey of Income and Living Conditions, the Community Innovation Statistics, the Structure of Earnings Survey and the Adult Education Survey are now available for free via approved research contracts. It appears that charges to access to detailed microdata via the Eurostat SAFE centre in Luxembourg have also been dropped, however I cannot confirm this at the moment.

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/microdata/introduction

Introduction to the ESRC Secure Data Service

Due to continuing demand another Introduction to the ESRC Secure Data Service will be held at LSE

Wednesday 13th April, 9.45-1.30
LRB532 (5th floor of the Lionel Robbins building above the library)

The event is free but booking is essential. For more information and to book a place please see the website
 http://securedata.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events-training/training?id=2830

English Indices of Deprivation 2010

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published the English Indices of Deprivation 2010
http://www.communities.gov.uk/communities/research/indicesdeprivation/deprivation10/

These statistics update previous indices, published by the Department in 2007 and 2004, using more recent data and provide a nationally consistent measure of multiple deprivation across local areas in England.

The Department would welcome comments regarding your use of the current Indices to help develop statistics that are able to best meet the needs of users.

UN World Contraceptive Use 2010

The United Nations Population Division  has announced the release of  "World Contraceptive Use 2010".

This set of tables in Excel format includes country data as of December 2010 on contraceptive prevalence for 193 countries or areas of the world, and unmet need for family planning for 107 countries or areas of the world. Detailed trend data on contraceptive prevalence (total and by type of method) are available from 1950 to 2010. Data also highlight patterns in use of long-acting and permanent methods and male methods of contraception. Unmet need for family planning data (total, spacing and limiting) are available from 1986 to 2009. Regional and sub-regional time trends in contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for family planning are also presented.

"World Contraceptive Use 2010" can be downloaded free of charge from the Population Division website, http://www.unpopulation.org/

Debate on the validity of subjective measures of well-being

Are national statistics on subjective well-being valid and reliable?

Monday 4 April 2011, 5.00 - 6.30pm with drinks reception to follow 6.30-7.30pm

Venue: Alexander Theatre, Samuel Alexander Building, University of Manchester, Lime Grove (off Oxford Road), Manchester, M13 9PL (Building number 67 on the campus map)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and methods@manchester are holding a debate on “Are national statistics on subjective well-being valid and reliable?” at the University of Manchester. This supports the national debate on measuring national well-being.

The panel members will be asked questions from the chair and members of the audience. Please register in advance of the event and submit your questions on the registration form. Background material on the issues of well-being and related documents can be found on the ONS website.

Chair: Mark Easton

Panel members include:  
Richard Wilkinson (author of The Spirit Level)
Andrew Oswald (member of the advisory committee on well-being to the ONS)
Stephen Hicks (Assistant Deputy Director of Measuring National Well-being, ONS)
David Hulme (Executive Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute)

This event is free and open to all, however registration is important as places are limited. Please book a place at www.methods.manchester.ac.uk/events/2011-04-04/

Census Resources for Research

On 12 April 2011, 10.00-4.30
British Library

The event will be an introduction to using census data for UK researchers. Organised in conjunction with the ESRC Census Programme and the UK Data Archive, it will feature presentations on interaction data, samples of anonymised records, aggregate data, boundary data and the ONS Longitudinal Study.

Although the event is open to all, those who are planning to carry out academic research using census data will benefit most. It is not suitable for those interested in genealogy.

This event is free of charge. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.


To find out more and to book a place, please go to: http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2752

Managing and sharing social science research data: legal and ethical issues

8 April 2011, 10.00-2.30
British Library, London

http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events/events.aspx?id=2751

As part of its current Researcher Development Initiative (RDI) grant, the UK Data Archive will host a workshop on managing and sharing research data for quantitative and qualitative social science research. The workshop is aimed at social researchers at all stages of their career - from new to experienced - and will cover key legal and ethical issues surrounding the managing and sharing of data in research with people (surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations and ethnography). The workshop will provide guidance and practical exercises and discussions focusing on:


• ethical and legal issues in data sharing and re-use
• handling and sharing confidential information and personal data
• informed consent and data sharing
• anonymising data

Content is based on advice and guidance provided by the UK Data Archive to researchers and aims to help researchers plan data management strategies for projects and consider data sharing and archiving as part of ethical review procedures.

Travel bursaries are available for postgraduate students. Contact datasharing@data-archive.ac.uk for further information.

Organisers: UK Data Archive, Research Data Management Support Services, University

Introduction to the ESRC Secure Data Service

For people who missed these events the first time, two more introductions to the ESRC's new Secure Data Service have been scheduled for LSE.

Secure Data Service information event

Dates: 13 April 2011, 14.30-15.30 / 11th May 2011, 14.30-15.30

Place: CEP conference room LRB405, London School of Economics and Political Science

The Secure Data Service is an ESRC-funded service designed to allow approved researchers with safe and secure access, from any UK higher education or research institution, to confidential/sensitive data free of charge.

The Service currently provides access to detailed social and health data, including versions of the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, with grid-references for each respondent.

We anticipate that the Service will also provide access to the business and economic microdata collections currently available only from the ONS Virtual Microdata Laboratory.

This information event is designed to inform you about the Service and the datasets that will be available to you.

To book a place at either event email  securedata@ukda.ac.uk or telephone: +44 (0)1206 874968.

13th April: http://securedata.ukda.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2803
11th May: http://securedata.ukda.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2804

Home Office Consultation on Immigration Statistics Publications

Comments on the proposals, summarised below, are sought from users of the following publications produced by Home Office Statistics:

• Control of Immigration: United Kingdom Statistics (annual publication)
• Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary
• British Citizenship Statistics (annual publication)

The consultation ends on 4 May 2011 and a summary update is planned to be included in Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary Q1 2011 at the end of May.

Home Office Statistics are proposing a phased development of changes that would ultimately lead to the release of data using the web as the main vehicle of dissemination.

It is proposed that in a phased development between August 2011 and February 2012:

i) commentary and analysis of the data should be structured in virtual topics, be shorter and focus on key points, but provide longer term trends;

ii) the annual and quarterly Control of Immigration publications, together with the British Citizenship Statistics, are combined to avoid duplication;

iii) tables are presented in such a way that makes them more accessible to users, in particular listing within tables all annual data, followed by quarterly data (a draft example of this layout is available in Table 1.2 of Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary Q4 2010); and a standard and full country of nationality and continent list;

iv) the number of tables released is reduced through a combination of amalgamation and a reduction in the variables reported on; and

v) all data (except passenger arrivals) are provided unrounded.

The latest publications and a copy of the consultation, containing further details and the consultation questions, are available from http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Please send your responses to MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Launch of the ESRC Secure Data Service

On Tuesday 29th March the ESRC funded Secure Data Service will be officially launched at the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), One Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET

To celebrate this major advance in the UK data infrastructure and the resulting increase in data access for policy based research, two events will be held:

Launch
6.00 Drinks reception
6.30 Keynote address and panel discussion
Speakers to include:

• Jil Matheson, National Statistician, UK Statistics Authority
• Paul Boyle, Chief Executive, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Julia Lane, Program Director, National Science Foundation (USA) and Chair, Secure Data Service Advisory Committee
• Melanie Wright, Director, Secure Data Service

To book your place: www.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events/2011/sdslaunch

Before the official launch there will also be a joint workshop


VML/SDS workshop: Joining together to improve research and impact

2.00-5.30  A decade of microdata: what have we learned, and what difference has it made?

This short workshop will focus on how changes in microdata access have affected research, policy and our understanding of the world, particularly in relation to economic performance. Information about how the VML and Secure Data Service will work together to provide researchers with access to data will also be provided.

To book your place: www.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events/2011/sdsworkshop

NOTE: Building security requires all attendees to book in advance. Kindly submit your booking form no later than Monday 21 March 2011.

On-line Tool for Data Management Plans

The Digital Curation Centre has released a trial version of a new tool to assist users in developing data management plans http://dmponline.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/ 

Funding bodies increasingly require their grant-holders to produce and maintain Data Management Plans (DMPs), both at the bid-preparation stage and after funding has been secured.


DMP Online is designed to enable researchers to build and edit DMPs with a view to the requirements stipulated by the major UK funders.

If you are applying to one of the funders that make specific data-related demands at the application stage (i.e. AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, MRC, Wellcome) you will see the funder's requirements in the left-hand column. These have been mapped to the appropriate clauses in the DCC Checklist for a Data Management Plan. By answering these questions, you should de facto meet the funder's requirements. The tool also presents options for developing DMPs for funding bodies that do not have specific data related demands.

For US researchers a prototype based on the DCC tool is in development http://www.cdlib.org/uc3/datamanagement/dmpo.html

World Bank Development Data in Stata

WBOPENDATA has been added to the utilities available through the RLAB stata licenses.

If you have your own stata license and would like to install WBOPENDATA the command is:

ssc install wbopendata

WBOPENDATA draws from the main World Bank collections of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources, and made available through the World Bank Open Data Initiative, and presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates. Users can chose from one of three of the languages supported by the database, namely, English, Spanish, or French. Three possible downloads options are currently supported: country - all indicators for all years for a single country. topic - all indicators within a specific topic, for all years and all countries. indicator - all years for all countries for a single indicator. Users can also choose to have the data displayed in either the wide or long format (wide is the default option).

For example, to download all data available for the Philippines for all years, type:

wbopendata, country(phl) clear

This returns data for 972 indicators from 1960 to the latest year available. The default data display is in wide format.

The list of countries, topics, and indicators and their corresponding codes are documented in the help file (see -help wbopendata-).

Introduction to the ESRC Secure Data Service

Date: 17th February
Time: 15.30-16.30
Location: CEP Conference Room, London School of Economics

The Secure Data Service is an ESRC-funded service designed to provide approved researchers with safe and secure access to confidential/sensitive data free of charge, from any UK higher education or research institution.

The Service currently provides access to detailed social and health data, including versions of the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, with grid-references for each respondent.

It is anticipated that the Service will also provide access to the business and economic microdata collections currently available only from the ONS Virtual Microdata Laboratory.

This information event is designed to inform you about the Service and the datasets that will be available to you.

For queries, please contact the Secure Data Service at securedata@ukda.ac.uk

RSS Event: The Retail Prices Index and the Consumer Price Index

Tuesday 25th January 2011 5pm
Royal Statistical Society, London.
12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX


The Retail Prices Index is the traditional measure of retail price inflation, and has been widely used for a range of purposes. Recently the Government has been giving more prominence to an alternative measure, the Consumer Price Index. This meeting will discuss whether the CPI is a better inflation measure than the RPI for all or some purposes. The ONS is considering how to improve the CPI and in particular how to include housing costs, which are currently excluded.

Speakers
To include Pam Davies (ONS).
Chairperson
Michael Baxter, Official Statistics Section committee.

Tea and coffee will be provided during the meeting.

Attendance is free and open to all, but pre-registration is recommended. You can register by email: meetings@rss.org.uk or by phone (020) 7638 8998. For further information contact Michael Baxter (michael_a_baxter@hotmail.com

Free data publishing tool

The Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD) has recently announced the availability of version 4.0 of the Nesstar software system for data publishing and online analysis. Starting from this release, the Nesstar Publisher component is now a freeware product and can be downloaded from the Nesstar web site. Also known as the IHSN Metadata Editor, the Publisher is a popular tool for the preparation of Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) based metadata.
For more information, visit http://www.nesstar.com

JournalTOCS - search journal contents pages

JournalTOCS provides free on-line access to the tables of contents of 14,228 journals.

You can search the database by author, publisher, ISSN and keyword. You can also search for words in the titles of papers.

http://www.journaltocs.hw.ac.uk