Development of the Self-Archiving System in the Social Science Japan Data Archive

Since its launch in 1996, the Social Science Japan Data Archive (SSJDA) has been collecting and storing raw data provided by depositors that are obtained mainly from social surveys. These data are then widely shared for academic purposes, or secondary analysis in particular. Although SSJDA has long been responsible for creating the metadata, a new self-archiving system was developed recently that allows the depositors to register their raw data and create the metadata by themselves. This self-archiving system is expected to improve the efficiency of data archiving and sharing in the long run; however, there are also several challenges to overcome. For example, many depositors, including academic researchers, are unexperienced in creating the metadata in a FAIR manner. Therefore, SSJDA is also planning to provide training programs, such as self-learning materials to the depositors.