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Reuse Questionnaire Data (ReQuest)
ReQuest: Discover, Compare and Reuse Survey Questions in the Social Sciences
ReQuest is a question bank that offers access to over 65,000 questions and variables from quantitative questionnaire-based surveys shared in the CDSP DataBank. It enhances data findability, promotes reuse and serves as a valuable instrument for supporting the search and analysis of existing data, and the design of new surveys.
The platform is designed to serve the academic community and the teams involved in the production, documentation, and dissemination of surveys. It also supports educational activities and fosters participatory approaches and citizen science by facilitating the utilisation of survey data by a diverse range of users.
Centralised access to survey variables and questions
ReQuest provides a unique entry point for exploring quantitative questionnaire surveys disseminated by the CDSP. This includes, for example, major French pre- and post-electoral surveys produced by the CEVIPOF and ELIPSS panel surveys covering various topics in social and political sciences.
Several features have been designed, in collaboration with data users, to support discovery and reuse:
- An optimised text search across questions, response categories, labels and variable names;
- Filters based on standardised information to refine search results;
- The possibility to compare similar questions across surveys, enabling longitudinal or comparative analysis;
- One-click access to the CDSP’s datasets and their documentation available on the repository data.sciencespo.fr;
- An export function to create a customised selection of metadata.
Architecture built on international dissemination standards
ReQuest is compliant with international dissemination standards, particularly the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI), alongside the curation practices implemented by the CDSP’s Documentation-Dissemination team. This approach structures access to information, enhances the visibility of metadata, and ultimately facilitates the reuse of existing data. It also ensures interoperability with heterogeneous data sources and other data providers.
A minimal metadata requirement has been defined for each survey question to guarantee that essential information is available for discovery, comparison, and reuse. This moderate requirement encourages broader submission of new metadata, thereby increasing the number of surveys accessible through the platform.
CDSP expertise, with ANR support, serving research in France and beyond
Starting in 2024, CDSP members designed and built ReQuest in collaboration with data producers and users. They consolidated and launched the first version in 2025, and in early 2026 the code was made publicly available in line with European and French open-source guidelines.
As part of the FAIRwDDI project, funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and dedicated to implementing FAIR principles and using artificial intelligence to enhance metadata reuse, the CDSP is developing new features to be integrated into ReQuest. The “Upscaling Metadata using AI” Work Package specifically aims to automate curation for metadata enrichment, harmonisation, and standardisation, thereby strengthening the interoperability of data with other partners in the project.