NACDA?s primary role in this project is to convert the base year internal survey data for the Project TALENT study into public use files in user-friendly formats that simplify access and data use. To address these tasks, the NACDA Program on Aging at the University of Michigan will develop and implement an archival strategy that will 1) offer long term preservation for this study so it will remain available for researchers in the decades to come, 2) develop and implement a archival and distribution plan that will allow interested members of the research community to obtain access to the Project Talent collection in a manner consistent with existing standards of confidentiality and respondent protection, 3) perform an in-depth confidentiality review and implement a respondent protection strategy in cooperation with the Project Talent project investigators, 4) bring existing documentation up to the best standards for data support materials. This include a full DDI-XML markup, introduction of the Project Talent variables into the comparative Variable Identification System (VIS) to allow researcher to search for specific variable types, 5) develop and implement a data management structure that will allow users to extract specific variables from the larger study and download compact analysis files from the NACDA website to their computers, 6) work with study investigators to develop and implement data support material so NACDA will be able to offer technical support to users on the structure and use of the Project Talent in order to minimize burden on the study investigators.
The creation of public-use files and variable level search tools will be carried out in collaboration with the NACDA Program on Aging. NACDA, the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging is a P30 Center funded by the National Institute on Aging. NACDA is the gerontological component of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), operating out of the University of Michigan. Its mission is to advance research on aging by making a broad range of datasets accessible to researchers. The demonstrated experience and expertise of NACDA in the archival process will be an invaluable asset to the proposed archiving of LBLS data. James W. McNally, the NACDA Project Director since 1998 has well established expertise in the creation of tools that facilitate the use of secondary data for analysis. McNally will serve as the lead contact for NACDA?s role in this archival process and Martha Sayre, the NACDA Project Manager will act as the technical expert for NACDA for the scope of work.