[DDI-users] Re:Adding tags to the DDI (Andrew L Arnott)

Sanda Ionescu sandai at icpsr.umich.edu
Tue Jan 20 12:22:36 EST 2004


Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Andrew is basically asking for a 
way to mark up in DDI skip patterns (if response to Vx is code "1" then go 
to Vxx; or, Vxx was aked of people who answered "1" to Vx).

I have repeatedly asked for a modification to the DDI which would allow an 
accurate rendition of these patterns.

Right now, there are two ways in which we can mark-up such patterns: 1) by 
using the <forward> and <backward> elements within <qstn>; technically, 
these are meant to back- or forward-reference other questions, but they can 
contain PCDATA, so an explanatory text can be inserted too (I am personally 
not too fond of this option).
2) by using the internal link element (<Link>)  one can actually 
cross-reference between the value "1" in variable Vx (category level) and 
the entire variable Vxx (variable level). Category, and, respectively, 
variable IDs would be used  in the Link's "refs" attribute.

I hope this helps.
Sanda.


Sanda Ionescu,
Research Associate
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
The University of Michigan
P.O. Box 1248
Ann Arbor, MI 48106

Phone: (734) 615-7890
Fax: (734) 647-8200


At 11:39 AM 1/20/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>Send DDI-users mailing list submissions to
>         ddi-users at icpsr.umich.edu
>
>To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>         http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/mailman/listinfo/ddi-users
>or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>         ddi-users-request at icpsr.umich.edu
>
>You can reach the person managing the list at
>         ddi-users-owner at icpsr.umich.edu
>
>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>than "Re: Contents of DDI-users digest..."
>
>
>Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Adding tags to the DDI (Andrew L Arnott)
>    2. Re: Adding tags to the DDI (I-Lin Kuo)
>    3. Re: Adding tags to the DDI (Mark R. Diggory)
>    4. RE: Adding tags to the DDI (Andrew L Arnott)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 14:10:18 -0700
>From: Andrew L Arnott <Relate_Webmaster at byu.edu>
>Subject: [DDI-users] Adding tags to the DDI
>To: ddi-users at icpsr.umich.edu
>Message-ID: <01L5L3O2MI5Q960FZT at EMAIL1.BYU.EDU>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>I'm fairly new to DDI, and moderately new to XML schemas.  I am using the
>DDI 2.0 schema (XSD) file to validate incoming DDI files on the web.  My
>problem is that DDI (apparently) does not have tags to make some variables
>conditional on the values of other variables.  I have tried to write another
>schema and do something like this:
>
><ddi:var ID="V1" .>
>
>             <myExt:if var="v5" equals="1"/>
>
>             <labl>.</labl>
>
></ddi:var>
>
>
>
>But the DDI schema doesn't allow for unknown elements, I guess.  Can anyone
>suggest how I can get around this problem?  If you know a different approach
>to my problem, I'd be very open to it.
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>Andrew Arnott
>
>-------------- next part --------------
>An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
>URL: 
>http://lion.icpsr.umich.edu/pipermail/ddi-users/attachments/20040119/6c0fd432/attachment-0001.htm
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 2
>Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 17:17:29 -0500
>From: I-Lin Kuo <ikuo at icpsr.umich.edu>
>Subject: Re: [DDI-users] Adding tags to the DDI
>To: Data Documentation Iniative Users Group
>         <ddi-users at icpsr.umich.edu>,    Andrew L Arnott
>         <Relate_Webmaster at byu.edu>
>Cc: ddi-users at icpsr.umich.edu
>Message-ID: <1074550649.400c5779ca3ce at icpsr.mail.umich.edu>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
>Technically, you can do the following:
>1) When you receive an incoming DDI document, store it.
>2) Make a copy of the DDI and use an xslt style sheet to strip out the custom
>extensions if they lie in different namespaces.
>3) Validate the stripped DDI against the schema.
>4) if the stripped version validates, then use the original.
>
>Note: your example appears rather ad hoc. If you could please explain what
>you're trying to do, and what actual extensions you've done, that would be
>useful to all of us. It's quite likely that someone else has tried to do what
>you're doing (in which case you don't have to reinvent the wheel). It might
>also be possible that your extension solves a problem in a way that could be
>incorporated into the next version of the DDI.
>
>
>Quoting Andrew L Arnott <Relate_Webmaster at byu.edu>:
>
> > I'm fairly new to DDI, and moderately new to XML schemas.  I am using the
> > DDI 2.0 schema (XSD) file to validate incoming DDI files on the web.  My
> > problem is that DDI (apparently) does not have tags to make some variables
> > conditional on the values of other variables.  I have tried to write 
> another
> > schema and do something like this:
> >
> > <ddi:var ID="V1" .>
> >
> >             <myExt:if var="v5" equals="1"/>
> >
> >             <labl>.</labl>
> >
> > </ddi:var>
> >
> >
> >
> > But the DDI schema doesn't allow for unknown elements, I guess.  Can anyone
> > suggest how I can get around this problem?  If you know a different 
> approach
> > to my problem, I'd be very open to it.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Andrew Arnott
> >
> >
>
>
>--
>I-Lin Kuo
>Programmer/Analyst II
>ICPSR
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 3
>Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 10:10:27 -0500
>From: "Mark R. Diggory" <mdiggory at latte.harvard.edu>
>Subject: Re: [DDI-users] Adding tags to the DDI
>To: Data Documentation Iniative Users Group
>         <ddi-users at icpsr.umich.edu>
>Cc: Andrew L Arnott <Relate_Webmaster at byu.edu>
>Message-ID: <400D44E3.6020105 at latte.harvard.edu>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
>
>Andrew,
>
>We are currently in the process of developing extensibility into the
>schema. But I expect this will be very controlled initially.
>
>I'd like to here more about what your attempting to do as well.
>
>One point, your example appears to be more tied to "conditional
>processing", xsl templating language is a very powerful tool for this.
>If there is a way you can avoid conditional processing within the xml
>file itself and focus it into the application. You may get more bang for
>your buck from the tools your using with lets design headaches.
>
>-Mark
>
>I-Lin Kuo wrote:
> > Technically, you can do the following:
> > 1) When you receive an incoming DDI document, store it.
> > 2) Make a copy of the DDI and use an xslt style sheet to strip out the 
> custom
> > extensions if they lie in different namespaces.
> > 3) Validate the stripped DDI against the schema.
> > 4) if the stripped version validates, then use the original.
> >
> > Note: your example appears rather ad hoc. If you could please explain what
> > you're trying to do, and what actual extensions you've done, that would be
> > useful to all of us. It's quite likely that someone else has tried to 
> do what
> > you're doing (in which case you don't have to reinvent the wheel). It might
> > also be possible that your extension solves a problem in a way that 
> could be
> > incorporated into the next version of the DDI.
> >
> >
> > Quoting Andrew L Arnott <Relate_Webmaster at byu.edu>:
> >
> >
> >>I'm fairly new to DDI, and moderately new to XML schemas.  I am using the
> >>DDI 2.0 schema (XSD) file to validate incoming DDI files on the web.  My
> >>problem is that DDI (apparently) does not have tags to make some variables
> >>conditional on the values of other variables.  I have tried to write 
> another
> >>schema and do something like this:
> >>
> >><ddi:var ID="V1" .>
> >>
> >>            <myExt:if var="v5" equals="1"/>
> >>
> >>            <labl>.</labl>
> >>
> >></ddi:var>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>But the DDI schema doesn't allow for unknown elements, I guess.  Can anyone
> >>suggest how I can get around this problem?  If you know a different 
> approach
> >>to my problem, I'd be very open to it.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>Thanks,
> >>
> >>Andrew Arnott
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>--
>Mark Diggory
>Software Developer
>Harvard MIT Data Center
>http://www.hmdc.harvard.edu
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 4
>Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 09:36:32 -0700
>From: Andrew L Arnott <Relate_Webmaster at byu.edu>
>Subject: [DDI-users] RE: Adding tags to the DDI
>To: ddi-users at icpsr.umich.edu
>Message-ID: <01L5M8EZLVJK960NDH at EMAIL1.BYU.EDU>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>Yes, thank you Richard.  That is exactly what I am looking for.  Although
>the simple skip pattern support currently in the DDI is not sufficient.  My
>ideas?  I'll include a few. Below them I will include how I am working
>around the problem for now (for the interest of others trying to do what I
>am doing also in the meantime).  I am pleased to know that the DDI committee
>is working on this.
>
>
>
>A schema that supports something like this would be nice:
>
><varGrp ID="VG8F1" type="subject" var="V5 V6 V7">
>
>   <labl>Kindness</labl>
>
>   <conditional>
>
>     <!-- The following conditionals would specify that this
>
>       -- varGrp is to be displayed and asked of the user
>
>       -- IF (V1 == 5) OR (V2 >=3 AND V3 == 2) -->
>
>     <if var="V1" equals="5"/>
>
>     <if var="V2" greaterOrEqualTo="3">
>
>        <if var="V3" equals="2"/>
>
>     </if>
>
>   </conditional>
>
></varGrp>
>
>
>
>It is a simple schema that allows complex AND/OR structures, and various
>ways to compare values (such as =, >, >=, etc.)  Specifically, I prefer this
>model of the varGrp specifying what it is dependent on, rather than
>individual var's specifying what varGrps depend on them.  All varGrp's,
>whether they contain other varGrp's or var's directly, should support this
>syntax.
>
>
>
>Now, what am I doing in the meantime?  Well, I'm misusing a tag to store the
>question skipping information.  Here is a code snippet of what I'm doing:
>
><varGrp ID="VG8F1" type="subject" var="V5 V6 V7">
>
>   <labl>
>
>     Kindness
>
>   </labl>
>
>   <defntn>
>
>     v1 >= 4
>
>   </defntn>
>
></varGrp>
>
>That's right.  I'm using straight text in a "defntn" tag to store the code,
>and my application code interprets this syntax and produces the desired
>result.  Much less than desirable, but it gets the job done, and we don't
>use the defntn tag for anything else right now.
>
>
>
>Those are my thoughts so far.  I have it working as is.  But if anyone has
>better ideas for implementing this, please let me know.  As soon as DDI
>comes up with a standard on this, I'll jump on the wagon. I really like the
>DDI spec.
>
>
>
>Andrew L Arnott
>
>Web Programmer
>
>The RELATE Institute
>
>School of Family Life
>
>Brigham Young University
>
>   _____
>
>From: Richard C. Rockwell [mailto:richard at ropercenter.uconn.edu]
>Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 9:24 AM
>To: Andrew L Arnott; Data Documentation Initiative Users
>Subject: Re: Adding tags to the DDI
>
>
>
>Andrew, as I read your message, it seems to me that you are asking a
>question entirely different from the two answers that have (so far) been
>posted.  Your question seems to me to arise from survey research rather than
>from information science or even from the details of the DDI and XML.
>
>I think that you are asking about what survey researchers know as "skip
>patterns," in which some characteristic of a question (which is almost but
>not entirely equivalent to a "variable") is contingent upon the response to
>another question.  The most common characteristic concerns whether the
>question is asked or not.
>
>An example is found in a specific GSS series of questions.  The first
>element in the series is the question "Are you a citizen of [the United
>States]?".  If the answer is "Yes," the interview then proceeds to "Were you
>born in [the United States]?".  If the answer to the question is "No" then
>and only then is this question asked "What citizenship do you hold?".  Then
>"No" respondents are also asked about their country of birth, returning to
>the normal flow of the questionnaire.
>
>Skip patterns can be considerably more complicated than this, including
>contingency on the values of two or more variables.  Even the question text
>can be contingent on the answer to a preceding question, although so far we
>don't see that frequently.
>
>At the moment the DDI handles only the simplest of skip patterns, with "come
>from" and "go to" elements.  This might suffice, Andrew, to meet your needs
>of the moment.
>
>The Expert and Steering Committtes are aware that much more is needed in
>order for the DDI to be capable of documenting the increasingly complex
>instruments used in various forms of Computer Assisted Interviewing.  Your
>ideas concerning what a future release of the DDI should be capable of
>documenting would be most welcome.
>
>("At 02:10 PM 1/19/2004 -0700, Andrew L Arnott wrote:
>
>I m fairly new to DDI, and moderately new to XML schemas.  I am using the
>DDI 2.0 schema (XSD) file to validate incoming DDI files on the web.  My
>problem is that DDI (apparently) does not have tags to make some variables
>conditional on the values of other variables.  I have tried to write another
>schema and do something like this:
>
><ddi:var ID= V1 &>
>
>             <myExt:if var= v5 equals= 1 />
>
>             <labl>&</labl>
>
></ddi:var>
>
>
>
>But the DDI schema doesn t allow for unknown elements, I guess.  Can anyone
>suggest how I can get around this problem?  If you know a different approach
>to my problem, I d be very open to it.
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>Andrew Arnott
>_______________________________________________
>DDI-users mailing list
>DDI-users at icpsr.umich.edu
>http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/mailman/listinfo/ddi-users
>
>--------------------------------------
>Richard C. ROCKWELL
>Executive Director, The Roper Center &
>Institute for Social Inquiry
>Professor of Sociology
>University of Connecticut
>341 Mansfield Road, U-164
>Storrs, CT 06269-1164  USA
>V +1 860 486-4440
>F +1 860 486-6308
>Richard.Rockwell at uconn.edu
>
>-------------- next part --------------
>An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
>URL: 
>http://lion.icpsr.umich.edu/pipermail/ddi-users/attachments/20040120/926d3755/attachment.htm
>
>------------------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>DDI-users mailing list
>DDI-users at icpsr.umich.edu
>http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/mailman/listinfo/ddi-users
>
>
>End of DDI-users Digest, Vol 1, Issue 82
>****************************************



More information about the DDI-users mailing list