Data documentation

Coordination : François-Xavier Pelegrin, INED, Archive and Library department

National statistical institutes and African academic project partners have been collecting data since the independence of their countries. However, data regarding population have existed for a longer period of time, and producers have varied over time. The different historical and political contexts in the African countries studied complicates the identification of existing data (what type of data? Where are they? What do they cover? Which indicators can they provide?). This inventory of data has not been completed yet in the African context.

In order to make use of this mass of data (data collection documentation, analytical reports, individual data), a first prerequisite consists in archiving and classifying the information. It should then be made accessible to potential users. All of this requires specific documentation skills which are available in research institutes such as INED or IRD that have a mission of collecting and disseminating population data or data reports.

This task will coordinate the collaboration between the documentation department of INED and librarians from the 4 NSOs involved in the programme (INSD, ANSD, INSTAT-Mali, INSTAT-Madagascar). Colleagues from IRD (IREDA project), ODSEF, will be associated. A collaborative work geared at the identification and localization of national statistical documentation will take place between librarians. The work will enable to inventory and classify the documentation held by the different partners covering the four countries.