In Brief: Expanding Research by Sharing Data

• NCJ Number: 233288
• Journal: NIJ Journal Issue: 267 Dated: Winter 2010 Pages: 34-35
• Date Published: March 2011
• Length: 2 pages
• Publication Series: NIJ Journal
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description

Annotation

This article briefly describes the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Data Resources Program which makes data available, from NIJ funded studies, for future research through the submission by researchers of their data to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data.

Abstract

The Data Resources Program was created by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) (the research arm of the Office of Justice Programs) to preserve data produced by NIJ-funded studies and make them available for secondary analysis by other researchers. Upon completion of a study, researchers submit the data to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. This article describes how archiving the data and making it available to other researchers contributes to NIJ's efforts to increase transparency, replicate findings, and extend research to the field. Making data and analytic methods available for scrutiny by others increases the transparency of the research process, gives other researchers the chance to validate findings, and enhances scientific integrity. For more information a list of Web sites are provided.