New Data Bank Promotes Increased Transparency and Progress in Scholarship Area Studies: Scholars Share Research Data Online

The Information Centre at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg has created a new data bank that provides an overview of various research data generated at the GIGA, as well as how to access them. The new data bank comprises qualitative and quantitative research data that are available either under an open access licence or upon request from the researcher responsible.

By making its research data available, the GIGA is promoting transparent and open scholarship and contributing to quality control in keeping with good academic practice.

GIGA president Professor Amrita Narlikar said of the data bank, “The sharing of research data means research results can be understood, verified, and reproduced. As a publicly funded institution, we want the data we collect to be accessible for further use – including in the regions we research. Scholars, in turn, profit from the increased visibility and dissemination of their results. Our comprehensive open access strategy is an important component of the GIGA’s global approach to scholarship.”

The data bank is available on the GIGA website under Research Data. In addition, the GIGA Information Centre offers a Research Data Service that provides general information on the topic of research data management.

What are research data? Research data include, among other things, quantitative data such as survey and measurement data as well as qualitative data such as interview recordings and transcripts, field notes, and audiovisual information. Geo-referenced data, questionnaires, software, and the results of experiments and simulations can also be categorised as research data. GIGA scholars generate a wide variety of data. Depending on the particular discipline, research data are processed using different mediums, levels of aggregation, and formats. The diversity of the GIGA’s research data reflects the disciplines, research interests, and methods represented at the GIGA. GIGA Research Data Service: www.giga-hamburg.de/en/publications/research-datasets/