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Equipex DIME-SHS

Led by the CDSP between 2011 and 2020, the DIME-SHS (Data, Infrastructure, and Survey Methods in the Social Sciences) “Équipement d’Excellence” initiative aimed to design and develop a wide range of tools dedicated to the production, dissemination, and reuse of qualitative, textual, and quantitative data, in order to strengthen service offerings for the scientific community.

Key Issues

In 2010, French research faced a significant lag in terms of infrastructures dedicated to the production, dissemination, and reuse of data in the humanities and social sciences:

  • No academic structure to conduct quantitative surveys on statistically representative population samples,
  • No centralized archive and dissemination platform for surveys using qualitative methodologies,
  • No system to collect and process data from the web.

The DIME-SHS Equipex Response

The DIME-SHS project aimed to bridge this gap by placing methodological expertise and the new digital and web-based technological possibilities at the core of its initiative.

Its main goals were to:

  • Design experimental tools for the production of research data;
  • Structure platforms to facilitate access to and exploration of diverse types of data;
  • Foster methodological reflection on multi-corpus research and promote new practices through digital tools;
  • Support data openness and secondary use to enhance the transparency of social science research practices.

The project was structured around three main instruments, each dedicated to specific types of data and research methods:

  • DIME Quali to strengthen the qualitative survey archive (beQuali);
  • DIME Quanti and its internet panel ELIPSS (Étude Longitudinale par Internet pour les Sciences Sociales);
  • DIME Web (led by the médialab at Sciences Po), to develop tools for collecting and analyzing spontaneous expressions on the web.

Funding and Partnerships

Selected under the “Investments for the Future” program dedicated to cutting-edge research equipment (Équipements d’Excellence), the DIME-SHS scientific project was recognized by the French National Research Agency (ANR) for its methodological rigor and received €10 million in funding from the General Secretariat for Investment to cover its deployment from 2011 to 2019 (ANR-10-EQPX-19-01).

As an additional mark of scientific excellence and attractiveness for the academic community, the DIME-SHS Equipex was awarded the Paris Sorbonne Cité University label in June 2010, by decision of its Scientific and Educational Steering Committee.

The DIME-SHS consortium was led by Sciences Po and brought together partners from research and higher education in various disciplines (sociology, demography, economics, political science).