CSCI - Competence and Service Center for Interoperability
Short description
The Competence and Service Centre for Interoperability (CSCI) is part of the European research infrastructure Monitoring Electoral Democracy (MEDem). CSCI’s mission is to develop an analytical standard that enables comparability and linkage across different types of data — such as textual, survey, and contextual data — over time and between countries. The overarching goal is to establish common principles, models, and tools that strengthen European electoral research and provide a foundation for data-driven insights into the development of democracy.
In this project, we aim to achieve scientific interoperability. This means that we do not merely manage metadata, but focus on how data can be combined and used meaningfully to support comparative research and theory development.
Our point of departure is the researcher’s perspective: interoperability is fundamentally about creating the conditions for combining variables and indicators that can be used to answer substantive research questions across time and countries.
In practice, CSCI develops principles, models, and tools that make it possible to integrate conceptually equivalent indicators, even when question wording, scales, or survey designs differ. By defining standards for analytical comparability, CSCI serves as a link between the research community and the technical infrastructure within MEDem.
By building capacity for data linkage and harmonization that supports both empirical analysis and theoretical advancement, CSCI contributes to strengthening comparative electoral research in Europe.
Research group
Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson, Head of Operations, Professor of political science, University of Gothenburg.
Stefan Dahlberg, Research Director, Professor of political science, Mid Sweden University.
Melina Liethmann, Database Supervisor, University of Gothenburg.
Maximilian Hornung, Database Supervisor, University of Gothenburg.
Dennis Andersson, Associate Researcher, University of Gothenburg.