About LiDA

Lithuanian Data Archive for Social Sciences and Humanities (LiDA) is a virtual digital infrastructure for SSH data and research resources acquisition, long-term preservation and dissemination. It provides access to more than 600 data and research resources.

Vision: LiDA is the leading national open-access virtual infrastructure for social sciences and humanities empirical research data and other resources.

Mission: to ensure access to FAIR-compliant Lithuanian and international empirical SSH data resources, strengthening open science, facilitating data uptake for informed decision making, and building a committed community of open data users in Lithuania.

LiDA’s goal is to serve as a trusted national research infrastructure that provides Lithuanian social sciences and humanities with high-quality, sustainable, and easy-to-use solutions for digital and FAIR data archiving, secondary use of data, continuous development of methodological and analytical competences, access to data for researchers worldwide, and data uptake for informed policy making.

The archive adheres to international standards to ensure that deposited research data and resources are FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable). LiDA is actively engaging with a growing network of national and international partners to promote high archival standards and extensive reuse of data.

LiDA contributes to the open science and open data academic movement and aims to increase the potential of data use.

Researchers are the main users of LiDA services, while students, educational institutions, government and business organizations, the media and the general public are also important users of LiDA services. Scientists and researchers need access to comprehensive national and international empirical datasets. Access to data is also crucial for educators and trainers. The globalization of higher education is setting new standards in the teaching of humanities and social sciences. There is a strong need to keep modules up-to-date and updated with the latest SSH research. Educators and lecturers are increasingly incorporating SSH empirical data into the educational process to support learning process.

Key LiDA services:
– acquiring, organizing, standardizing and documenting empirical SSH research datasets in accordance with FAIR principles;
– long-term preservation of research datasets;
– ensuring open access and promoting reuse of research data;
– developing researchers’ and public sector specialists’ capacity to cuarate, manage data, find and use data for secondary analysis.

LiDA’s objectives are:
1. Acquire, process, document, ensure reliable long-term preservation of, and provide access to, SSH empirical data generated by scientific, educational, governmental, and other institutions or their representatives, and of relevance to the analysis of the social, political, economic, and cultural development of Lithuania.
2. Curate various types of SSH empirical data: surveys, interviews, experimental and observational studies, aggregate statistics, textual data, etc.
3. Develop and implement new standards and technological solutions for the acquisition, processing, documentation, long-term storage and display of SSH empirical data.
4. Ensure the quality, security and usability of SSH empirical data and its descriptors (metadata).
5. Ensure the quality and user-friendliness of LiDA’s administrative, technological and infrastructural solutions and collect data on users’ attitudes towards LiDA and its activities.
6. Provide training in the discovery, use, management and analysis of SSH empirical data, and advice on SSH research methodology.
7. Organize scientific and practical conferences, seminars, debates and other events on SSH empirical data management and curation. Organize conferences, seminars and other events to promote the preservation, sharing and re-use of SSH empirical data, ensuring a broader and knowledge-based use of SSH empirical data in Lithuanian, while increasing the potential for the application and impact of research.
8. Actively promote open science ideas.
9. Maintain collaborative relations and disseminate information about LiDA and its activities to the academic community, municipal and national authorities, businesses, educators and other relevant groups.
10. Cooperate with other national and international data curation institutions and relevant international organizations.
11. Integrate Lithuanian SSH datasets into European and global networks of data institutions.
12. To enable the academic staff and students to carry out research and development at LiDA.

Values created and the use of LiDA infrastructure

The tables below gives examples of the values created and the use of infrastructure. This value has been created through experimental and social development work, R&D&I services, research and capacity building for researchers.

Published datasets (1)

Non-formal education and use of LiDA data or materials (2)

Use of LiDA data or materials (3)

Institutional Experience and Competence, Administration and management

The LiDA is hosted by the Data Analysis and Archiving (DAtA) Centre of the KTU Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities (FSSAH). The following diagram (see Figure) identifies the main activities implemented by the LiDA and the bodies responsible for managing and monitoring the implementation of these activities. In order to ensure successful implementation of the activities and the sustainability of LiDA, representatives of Lithuanian research and study institutions, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (MESS), the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL) and the Governmental Strategic Analysis Centre (STRATA) are incorporated into the monitoring and management activities of the LiDA.

Figure 1. Management structure of the LiDA

The LiDA Coordinator is responsible for the operations of the archive and organises their implementation. He is also responsible for the scientific and technological development of the archive and for the achievement of the LiDA’s aims and objectives. He supervises the quality of the archive operations.

KTU Central Office and IT departments, as the hosting institutions of LiDA, are responsible for the administration of the technological and financial resources of the archive: accounting for and controlling the archive’s funds; implementing the technological functioning of the archive; preparing the technical and financial reports and being responsible for their realization. The KTU FSSSH is responsible for the administration of the human resources of the archive. Annual reports about the operations of the LiDA are submitted for approval to the KTU FSSAH managing institutions.

Staff in these positions and internal institutions work for more than 10 years managing and supporting operations of the LiDA, which ensures stable functioning and sustainability of the archive. The LiDA coordinator Vaidas Morkevičius works for the archive from the beginning of its activities in 2006. He was involved in different activities of the archive (data documentation, standards adoption, technological development etc.), which puts him in a good position to understand the operations of the archive and their management. The head of the DAtA Centre (which hosts LiDA) Audronė Telešienė has long term experience in academic management (being head of various internal institutions, scientific projects and participating in managing bodies of other institutions).

The main function of the National Advisory Board is to advise and consult LiDA on governance, operations management, collection and technology development and data curation standards/best practices.

The Board includes representatives of the Lithuanian research and study institutions with the largest number of social science students, scientists and researchers – Kaunas University of Technology, Vilnius University, Vilnius TECH, Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, Klaipėda University, and the Lithuanian Social Science Centre. The Board also includes representatives of the Lithuanian the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (MESS), the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL) and the Governmental Strategic Analysis Centre (STRATA). Members of the Board are experts in SSH and data collection, preservation and management, which allows to coordinate the development of the archive operations exploiting their knowledge and expertise.

Lithuanian Data Archive for Social Sciences and Humanities (LiDA) is a virtual digital infrastructure for SSH data and research resources acquisition, long-term preservation and dissemination. It provides access to more than 600 data and research resources.

All the data and research resources are documented in both English and Lithuanian according to international standards. Access to the resources is provided via the Dataverse Repository: lida.dataverse.lt. LiDA Dataverse Repository strives to become a certified SSH data archive according to international standards.

LiDA curates different types of resources and they are published into catalogues according to the type: Survey Data, Aggregated Data (including Historical Statistics), Encoded Data (including News Media Studies), and Textual Data. Also, LiDA holds collections of social sciences and humanities data deposited by Lithuanian science and higher education institutions and Lithuanian state institutions (Data of Other Institutions).

Depositing data in the LiDA Dataverse repository

Why deposit data to LiDA?

• Archived data is less prone to be lost: this allows researchers to not worry about their hard work going to waste, and they can access and reuse their own data at any time.
• Researchers or organizations that have conducted research become known to others and are cited: data sharing increases the visibility and awareness of researchers among colleagues, and the research data used are cited in the scientific publications.
• The circle of acquaintances of researchers expands: public access to the data submitted to the archive can pave the way for effective cooperation between the researchers or organizations that collected the data and the users of that data.
• The data can be important to other researchers, as well as to the development of the whole discipline: a high-quality data set, into which a lot of intellectual and financial resources have been invested, is a valuable scientific resource. As a result, it must be analyzed in as much detail as possible and from as many different scientific perspectives as possible.

Data preparation for archiving

In order for archived data to be suitable for secondary analysis, it is very important to describe them properly. Although the detailed documentation of the deposited data requires a lot of time and effort, it helps users of the data, who did not participate in the specific research projects that interest them, to find out all the necessary information about the conduct of the research. Only in this way the secondary analysis of the curated data becomes effective and correct. Therefore, we ask the researchers depositing their data to keep the relevant data files cleaned and clear, with all the documentation explaining the research data, methods, assumptions and possible shortcomings.

Depositing data to the archive involves three main steps:

1. Signing a Data Deposit Agreement, which discusses the legal, administrative and technical issues of data deposit (see example of a Survey Data Deposit Agreement in Lithuanian).
2. The depositor processes the data files deposited to the archive in such a way that it ensures the anonymity of the data, and that the variables have appropriate and suitable names and labels.
3. The processed data, with all accompanying documentation, are submitted to the archive.

Below we provide links to documentation explaining how to properly prepare quantitative and qualitative research data for deposit:

• Guidelines (in Lithuanian) for documenting and preparing quantitative data for the deposit
• Guidelines (in Lithuanian) for documenting and preparing qualitative data for the deposit

Detailed information on depositing the data to the archive can be found in the Data Preparation for Archiving Guide (in Lithuanian).

Deposit of data to the archive

When you have prepared the data files and other accompanying materials (questionnaires, coding schemes, etc.) and filled out the research description, you can send them by e-mail data@ktu.lt.

In some cases, researchers may request that the archive impose temporary access restrictions (embargo) on research data deposited to the archive. This stipulation may be included into the Data Deposit Agreement.

A few more tips

The seemingly complex documentation and preparation of data for the deposit to the archive can be greatly facilitated by proper planning. Here are some tips to help you document your deposited data:

• Preparations for data archiving should begin at the very project conception stage – if possible, it is recommended to include the preliminary financial and time costs of data documentation in the preparation of the project proposal.
• The function of data documentation should be assigned to a specific person who will be involved throughout the whole research cycle.
• The most important thing is that the documentation of the research and the data collected during it starts from the very beginning – it is necessary to describe the purpose and methodology of the research. It is strongly suggested not to take the risk of postponing the documentation process until the end of the research – it is very likely that it may not be completed at all.
• LiDA staff consults about questions of data deposit and documentation by e-mail data@ktu.lt.

LiDA Persistent Identifiers (PIDs)

Persistent identifier (PID) is a unique digital identifier associated with an object (person, organization, book, article, document, file, web page or other digital or physical object) and registered in a certain registration system. Registration in the system means that the link between the object and the identifier will be valid for a long time and information about the object will be found in the virtual space for a long time. Using a PID ensures that a digital reference to a digital or physical object will be valid even if the location of that object in the digital or physical space changes.

Many PID systems exist that are linked to very diverse objects: publications (DOI), datasets (Handle, DOI), individuals (ORCID), organizations (ROR), etc. Each of the systems has its own specific characteristics and features, strengths and weaknesses.

LiDA plans to develop and implement PID policies that will regulate the issuing of PIDs to different curated objects (data set catalogues, data sets and data files and related material) and the usage of other PID systems to document curated objects. Currently, “LiDA PID Policy for Data Sets” is being developed implementing project “Creating EOSC compliant Persistent Identifier (PID) policy for LiDA“. More information is available here.