Enhancing Social Science Research in the UAE: An Open Source Software Solution University of Sharjah (UOS) Case Study

Researchers, practitioners and social scientists all agree on the enormous importance of social science research in advancing human knowledge and informing public policy makers. The National Research Foundation, along with other organizations in the UAE, is leading the initiative to integrate the efforts of social research institutions in order to support the decision making process in the UAE. As indicated by a number of social researchers during the last forum held on May 29-30, 2012, at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, Abu Dhabi, UAE, there is a huge demand for a unified database for social science research in the UAE. In this study, we report on a survey that was distributed to more than 140 social science researchers in four main cities in the UAE: Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah. It shows that more than 90% of the researchers in the field of social sciences have faced challenges when conducting their research. We have also conducted interviews with the faculty members in the Department of Social Science at the University Of Sharjah (UOS). Although there are library resources available at UOS, researchers still face such challenges, compared to their colleagues at other universities. As a result, the Dataverse Network "Bayanatona", an open source application, was proposed as a complete solution for these researchers in the UAE.