Data Repository
The Data Repository Project (DRP), which was one of the first projects launched in the five year Knowledge Utilization and Policy Implementation (KUPI) research program funded by CIHR (2002-2007), is an electronic archive of quantitative and qualitative data, designed specifically to preserve Knowledge Translation and Research Utilization datasets. This project permitted us to establish one of the few Canadian initiatives currently in existence for the preservation of originally collected research data. Because Canada does not currently have a national data repository, researchers have few options for the long-term preservation of their data. As a result, data archiving in Canada has been sporadic and unsystematic, with data often being lost over time or becoming inaccessible because of generational changes in hardware and software. The DRP is an important step in maximizing investments in health research by ensuring that previously-collected data will be preserved and readily available for future re-use.
As we collect large quantities of data during the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) project, this repository will expand into an extensive, specialized database for Knowledge Translation data. These data will be available for reuse by other researchers in the Knowledge Translation field, with the results of their investigations added to an enduring and continuously-augmented repository.
In 2008, TREC hired a data manager who is working with the Data Management Committee and the data unit to map the various data sources to ensure linkages across data sources can occur. To date, over 50 sources of data have been identified.