by Marian Ewurama Addy, Regional Secretary, COSTED, West and
Central Africa Region,
c/o Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, P.O. Box M 32, Accra Ghana.
ABSTRACT
There are certain common tendencies or practices in (parts of) Africa, which may hinder good data organization and management. These relate to record keeping, approximations and specifications. The negative aspects of these practices may underlie the unscientific nature of the information that is generated in these parts of the world. If the scientific community everywhere is to be responsible for collecting reliable data in an internationally standardized manner, and for improving the compatibility of data collection and processing, and for facilitating access to scientific knowledge, then one of CODATA's work must be education to overcome or minimize these tendencies. As a start, a project is suggested whereby information contained in theses in scientific disciplines could be standardized and made more available, compatible and accessible to all.