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National
Research
Council

Institute for Research
on Population
and Social Policies

User-lock Facebook Instagram Linkedin

National
Research
Council

Institute for Research
on Population
and Social Policies

DASSI - CESSDA

DASSI – “Data Archive for Social Sciences in Italy” is the data archive dedicated to the social sciences that constitutes the Italian node of the CESSDA-ERIC infrastructure (www.cessda.eu).

Established in 2021 through a joint research unit between the National Research Council and the University of Milano-Bicocca, DASSI promotes the deposition of data produced in research activities, supporting its reuse. The archive ensures the long-term preservation of data and its sharing, operating in compliance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

Researchers are assisted in the data deposition process and in the assignment of the user license, while respecting intellectual property. Deposited data is anonymized, distributed in an open format, and well-documented through metadata and supporting materials so that it can be understood by everyone.

DASSI is primarily aimed at researchers working in the field of social sciences, but also at any other type of user: teachers, educators, policymakers, etc.

DASSI Objectives

In particular, DASSI is working to:

  • Promote accessibility to research data to support replicability and reuse.

  • Make data searchable through an online catalog.

  • Make its data available through the CESSDA Data Catalogue (https://datacatalogue.cessda.eu/)

  • Manage the documentation of deposited data, regarding information on the context, structure, and research processes. Data is described by appropriate metadata adhering to the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) standard and compiled using controlled vocabularies to ensure interoperability.

  • Guarantee long-term preservation of data, its documentation, and findability through the attribution of a persistent identifier (DOI).

  • Raise awareness about sharing and reusing research data, through the application of FAIR principles and open science, and the use of open formats and open-source tools.

The role of IRPPS

CNR-IRPPS is part of the DASSI documentation working group, which is responsible for preparing and updating the documents governing the archive's operation and obtaining CoreTrustSeal certifications.

The role of IRPPS-CNR extends through research and training activities conducted on the topics of data documentation and reuse.

Research and training activities

Participation in conferences

  • DSU Conference “Peace: the point of view of science”. National Research Council, 2024-12-20. “The contribution of Open Science to the promotion of a culture of peace” (Claudia Pennacchiotti, Adriana Valente, Valentina Tudisca, Loredana Cerbara, Luciana Taddei, Filippo Accordino)
  • COORDINATE Conference on Data Sharing and Secondary Analysis in Child and Youth Wellbeing Research. CROSSDA – Croatian Social Science Data Archive, University of Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Zagreb, 2024-12-09/10. “The role of social sciences data archives in the research on child and youth well-being” (Filippo Accordino, Daniela Luzi, Fabrizio Pecoraro)
  • “4th International Conference on Data Science & Social Research” (DSSR 2024), Naples, 2024-03-25/27. “Tracking Archive’s Data Reuse in the Social Sciences: An Investigation” (Filippo Accordino, Daniela Luzi, Fabrizio Pecoraro)
  • Department Conference “The Humanities and Social Sciences in the 21st Century. Understanding and transforming society”. National Research Council, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Cultural Heritage, 2023-11-09. “The CESSDA infrastructure and the Italian social science data archive DASSI” (F. Accordino, F. Pecoraro).

Training activities

  • “Managing data within the social science infrastructures: the role of FOSSR” online training FOSSR, IRPPS-CNR, 2023-11-06/07. “CESSDA and DASSI: an overview” (Filippo Accordino), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10120307
  • “Data lifecycle and architectures in the social sciences” online training FOSSR, IRPPS-CNR, 2023-10-04/05.

“CESSDA and DASSI: an overview” (Filippo Accordino), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8414668

Publications

  • Accordino F., Pecoraro F., Luzi D. (2025), “CESSDA Data Catalogue: an opportunity to enhance data in social sciences”, International Journal on Digital Libraries, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-025-00416-w
  • Accordino, F., Pecoraro, F., & Luzi, D. (2023). The CESSDA catalog: what datasets can be found? An investigation through metadata. (141/2023; IRPPS Working papers, p. 47). National Research Council – Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies. http://epub.irpps.cnr.it/index.php/wp/article/view/297
Project site
Partners:
University of Milano-Bicocca
Scientific directors:
Mario Paolucci
Fabrizio Pecoraro
The IRPPS team in DASSI: