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The DataFirst Wiki

The DataFirst Wiki is an online repository and user resource related to South African survey data. From the Wiki researchers can access the DataFirst Survey Data Catalogue for data discovery, and access and download the survey documentation held by the Archive. The Wiki is also an online database for DataFirst’s public access datasets, which can be downloaded via this facility. The DataFirst Survey Data Catalogue is harmonised to the Data Catalogues of National Statistical Offices in other African countries, to facilitate co-operation with regard to the curation and sharing of survey microdata in the region.

The Wiki also provides access to the output of DataFirst’s Data Quality Project. This Mellon-funded project mandates DataFirst to interrogate the accuracy and usability of data from South African surveys, and to place their findings in the public domain. To this end, research notes on errors and anomalies in the survey data are posted on the Wiki, as well as scholarly output on error-corrections and the appropriate usage of national datasets. Revised and corrected data files and documentation are also made available via this repository.

The advantage of the Wiki format is that it provides an opportunity for collaborative input to the Data Quality Project through a facility which allows researchers working in the area to share information on data problems as these are discovered. Solutions and corrections, from data producers or survey analysts, can also be made publicly available via this research resource.