2009/01/01 by Nina Baur, Baur, Nina · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Accessing Data #Archiving #Data Analysis and Archiving #Data Lore #Data Preparation #Data Quality #Data Selection Bias #Longitudinal Analysis #Mass Data #Mass Files #Measurement #Process-Generated Data #Process-Produced Data #Public Administrational Data #Sampling #Social Bookkeeping Data #Social Capital and Networks #Survey Data #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.12759/hsr.34.2009.3.9-50
openalex publication_date 2009/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The author compares mass data with survey data and other process-generated data and discusses their relevance for historical, historical social science and sociological research. After summarizing the current state of methodological knowledge on public administrational data, she concludes that the discussion on mass data has to be re-opened. She suggests a framework for such a discussion and links the older German discussion from the 1970s and 1980s to the discussion newly arising. She suggests that the major issues are (a) data lore and measurement quality; (b) data selection and sampling problems; (c) archiving and statistical programmes and (d) data preparation. After summing up the state of the debate, the authors suggests which questions should be answered in future research.