MEDem Data Sources and Linking Services: Our new database catalog is up and running!
Finding relevant data is a crucial first step in democracy research. MEDem’s new searchable catalogs, Data Sources and Linking Services, help researchers discover resources for studying democracy and political communication, alongside tools and methods for exploring potential links between datasets. They complement our existing Training Database, which brings together learning opportunities and materials for researchers. All three catalogs are free to browse and access.
What the catalog offers
Our new databases are organized into two units, Data Sources and Linking Services, each with three sections.
The Data Sources Database brings together selected data already available in third-party systems or tools, easy to download and access.
- Context Data: data on the institutional, political and societal contexts of democracy, including governments, policy, history, diplomacy, conflict and political elites.
- Survey Data: surveys covering elections, parties, political participation and attitudes across countries and time.
- Text Data: datasets covering party manifestos, parliamentary debates, speeches, press releases, news and social media.
The Linking Services Database brings together databases, tools, methods, linkage keys and training resources relevant to connecting data across three types of entities.
- Political actors: resources for linking information about parties and politicians across datasets.
- Spatial units: resources for connecting data across geographical areas and territorial classifications.
- Individuals: resources for linking individual-level information across sources.
Many of the listed data sources and services are developed or provided by the MEDem Data Networks. The catalogs direct users to the original projects and collections, where access conditions are specified.
A collaborative effort
The data and sources were curated by our MEDem Service Centers for Text and Multimedia Data (VU Amsterdam and University of Vienna), Survey Data (FORS), and Country and Institutional Data (University of Florence). The linking services database was curated and integrated by the MEDem Service Center for Data Linkage (GESIS).
The MEDem Headquarters at the University of Vienna brought these contributions together and continues to work with the Service Centers towards greater interoperability and the future linking of these resources.
Explore and contribute
Please feel free to explore the catalogs to find resources for your research. If you know of a relevant database, linking tool, or training resource that is not yet listed, we would be happy to hear from you. Your suggestions will help us expand and improve the catalogs for the research community!
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