Maintaining survey catalogs

Sharing microdata with qualified researchers is a cost effective solution to increase the quality and diversity of data analysis. The IHSN has developed tools and guidelines for data documentation, cataloguing and dissemination to be used by data producers and depositors interested in sharing their datasets. To assist data users in locating available datasets, the IHSN also maintains two survey catalogs:

• Our IHSN central survey catalog is maintained in collaboration with the World Bank Development Data Group, and provides the most comprehensive listing of surveys and censuses, with limited metadata and searching capability.
• Our DDI catalog is a more advanced catalog, compliant with the DDI, an international XML metadata standard. This catalog makes use of NADA, the open source cataloguing application developed by the IHSN. It provides a portal for searching rich metadata provided by a network of users of the NADA application.
• We also provide links to national survey catalogs and to other specialized (regional/international) survey catalogs.
• In addition to these survey catalogs, the IHSN maintains a catalog of survey questionnaires.

Questions and contributions to the IHSN catalog and to the list of other databanks can be addressed to info@surveynetwork.org.