Toward a national information system for social science data files

Howard D. White

Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 1977, vol. 28, issue 6, 313-322

Abstract: Despite a breakthrough in library cataloging of files of machine‐readable social science data (directions are expected in the next Anglo‐American Cataloging Rules), the U.S. system for delivering information about data files still needs strengthening. While descriptive cataloging of locally held files by research libraries should prove helpful, suppliers' restrictions on “rediffusion” of data reduce the value of a national union catalog. Subject cataloging is also a problem, although a new form heading for data files would improve the usefulness of the Library of Congress Subject Headings. The greatest improvement would be inclusion of abstracts and indexing of the files in a national bibliographic service with on‐line search capability, especially one that could provide the codebooks required by those wanting to reuse others' data. With NTIS furnishing a prototype, ERIC is here proposed as a model of what is needed. ERIC has many desirable features as a “data information system” that would not disrupt present economic arrangements for delivering the files themselves.

Date: 1977
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630280603

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jamest:v:28:y:1977:i:6:p:313-322

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-4571

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of the American Society for Information Science from Association for Information Science & Technology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().