Our Finnish Service Provider FSD has published an interview with CESSDA Director Ron Dekker as a prominent feature of its FSD Bulletin in English.

How will European researchers benefit from CESSDA, Director Ron Dekker?

"We work on better accessibility of data. It is crucial for researchers to have seamless access to relevant social science data in a safe and secure way.

As CESSDA service providers, European data archives are also regularly developing tools and services to simplify and improve the depositing of data.

CESSDA emphasises safety in data preservation and reuse. Researchers must have safe and secure access to data, including sensitive data.

This is why all CESSDA service providers should aim to receive the CoreTrustSeal certification, awarded to trusted digital repositories."

What kinds of services will CESSDA offer to researchers?

"The data catalogue, which will be available in 2018, will contain the metadata of all data in the holdings of CESSDA service providers. It will be a one-stop-shop for search and discovery, enabling effective access to European research data for researchers.

The catalogue is a big technical feature and one which CESSDA has been meticulously working at for several years, under the stewardship of the CESSDA Technical Group.

Alongside data technology improvements, CESSDA will also provide a number of trainings. Technology and training go hand in hand.

The CESSDA website itself is a useful resource for researchers as they can find out more about the archives and services in each country in one place. Regular news items and postings on social media channels also mean that researchers can easily follow happenings within CESSDA. These channels provide easy access to information on upcoming trainings, for example."

Read the whole interview on the FSD website.

More information:

• Editorial and contents of issue 48 (1/2018)