Social Science Data as Sources for Contemporary History. An Introduction

Social research, qualitative and quantitative, has long been the preferred means of self-observation in industrial societies. The social science data generated in the process are therefore rewarding sources for many fields of contemporary history. A large-scale integration of both quantitative and qualitative social science data into the contemporary historian's practice will aid a fuller reconstruction of the agency of ordinary people and the relations between the social sciences, society, and politics of the past. This article addresses the challenges facing historians re-using social science data. It gives examples of relevant archives and research projects, discussing the historian's method and practice and the ethical, legal, archival and metadata problems awaiting resolution.