Expertise & Guidance
Expertise and Guidance
Internal resources
The ADA archival staff bring expertise in quantitative and qualitative data archiving, social science methodology, access management and user experience. ADA staff also include experts in technology, digital security, software development and programming. Academic staff at ADA regularly publish in peer reviewed social science and digital humanities journals and are recognised experts in these fields.
ADA maintains an internal wiki to capture and share resources among staff including training and onboarding content. ADA staff regularly undertake professional development including workshops and seminars, conference attendance, and auditing of courses in the POLIS curriculum.
ADA staff meet twice weekly to discuss any data protection and access issues with the Director and Deputy Director. The ANU Research Contracts Office and University Legal Office are available to advise ADA on contracts and intellectual property issues.
...accommodate evolutions in data types, data volumes, and data rates ... adopt the most effective new technologies...
...ensure value to designated community...
POLIS: The Social Policy Research Centre
The ADA is situated within POLIS: The Social Policy Research Centre at ANU. This arrangement provides the ADA ready access to a range of academic experts in social policy research, methodology, and data experts in a range of relevant social science fields. The ADA benefit from the advice and contribution of members of the CSRM scientific advisory board. The board members include international and Australian leaders in survey research, with particular expertise in survey design, internet-based surveys, sampling error, and longitudinal research.
POLIS (formerly CSRM): https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/
CSRM Advisory Board: http://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/people/advisory-board
ANU policy library - Centers and Institutes: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_012009
The Australian National University
Recurrent funding from ANU has supported the continued operation of ADA since 1981 and provides sufficient resources to recruit and train appropriately skilled staff.
External engagement
The ADA actively engages with a range of networks, organisations, and activities that provide opportuinties for exchanging professional expertise and industry guidance. Current engagements relate to social science research infrastructure,
- WorldFAIR:
- CESSDA:
- World Data Service:
- Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia: Decadal plan for social science research infrastructure
- Australian Research Data Commons:
- International Association of Social Science Information Service and Technology (IASSIST): http://www.iassistdata.org/
- ADA is a member attending conferences and engaging with other member archives of this organisation
- Australian Consortium of Social and Political Research (ACSPRI): http://www.acspri.org.au/
- In a close association with the Archive via ADSRI, ACSPRI aided in the establishment of the ADA. ADA staff attend, or teach into where appropriate, the training programs held by ACSPRI.
The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) provides the online data services and supporting infrastructure and develops this cyberinfrastructure for the needs of the consortium and can be utilized along with university ITS for advice.