Expanding The Data Diversity On Jdcat: Promoting Research Data Reuse Across Disciplines In Japan

This presentation introduces the “Program for Strengthening Data Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences,” a project commissioned by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in 2023 and led by the Historiographical Institute and the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo. The program focuses on enhancing the Japan Data Catalog for the Humanities and Social Sciences (JDCat), a data platform facilitating interdisciplinary data sharing and utilization. Accessible in both Japanese and English, JDCat consolidates metadata from various institutions into a single searchable platform (https://jdcat.jsps.go.jp). JDCat has been operational since 2021, utilizing a metadata schema based on the DDI Codebook and compatible with Japanese metadata standards such as JPCOAR schema. Starting in 2025, there have been two major progress. Firstly, JDCat has connected new data sources with two additional institutions: Kobe University Library and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties. With these additions, JDCat now integrates data from a total of six institutions. This collaboration has further enriched the humanities data available on the platform. Secondly, JDCat has started to formulate a policy for handling qualitative data. The Social Science Japan Data Archive (SSJDA), operated by the Center for Social Science Research and Data Archive at the Institute of Social Science, has primarily archived quantitative social survey data. The SSJDA is currently exploring the preservation and sharing of qualitative data as a new initiative. In this presentation, we report on our challenges considered and functional enhancements toward the further expansion of JDCat data diversity through this new SSJDA project. The presentation offers insights into the program’s progress and underscores the importance of robust data infrastructure for fostering interdisciplinary and international research collaboration.