Archiving Experiments: A Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS) and Roper Center Collaboration

With over 250 experimental surveys conducted on behalf of faculty and graduate students and full funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS) has been an invaluable resource in the political science community. The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research has worked to archive the past 10 years of this experimental data both at the study level and question level. New features in Roper Center’s archival management software enabled full integration of these surveys into our iPoll database spanning over 75 years of polling, while preserving their distinction as experimental surveys. The curation approach and technology together allow for presentation of independently understandable experimental questions including any images and information the respondents may have been shown. This presentation will include a walkthrough of the experimental database as well as processes involved in archiving experimental data, including the gathering of summary information to allow for independently understandable questions and partnering with outside institutions for data entry.