This book provides high-level experts’ visions of how the information and communication technologies are providing exciting new research opportunities in the social sciences. It looks at the related infrastructure requirements, particularly at the international level, and highlights some of the barriers to the pervasive use of infrastructure.

The book tackles complex questions such as developing infrastructure investments, disseminating best policy practices, developing new surveys - including a global social survey - and sharing research and information resources. It contributes to a better understanding of how policy reform could enhance the impact of the social sciences on efforts to solve global societal problems.

The Challenge of Building Infrastructure in the Social Sciences: Opening Remarks by Marc Renaud
Chapter 1. Social Sciences for a Digital World: Building Infrastructure for the Future by David Moorman
Chapter 2. Reinventing the Social Sciences: Setting the Stage by Luk van Langenhove
Chapter 3. Social Sciences Databases in OED Countries: An Overview
Chapter 4. Planning Large-Scale Infrastructure: Longitudinal Databases by Gaston Schaber
Chapter 5. Sharing and Preserving Data for the Social Sciences by Denise Lievesley
Chapter 6. New Technologies for the Social Sciences by William Sims Bainbridge
Chapter 7. Final Report of the Joint Working Group of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Statistics Canada on the Advancement of Research Using Social Statistics by Paul Bernard et al
Chapter 8. New Horizons for the Social Sciences: Geographic Information Systems by Michael F. Goodchild
Chapter 9. New Horizons for Qualitative Data by Paul Thompson
List of Participants