[DDI-users] WORKSHOP: Using DDI 3.0 to Support Preservation, Management, Access, and , Dissemination Systems for Social Science Data

[Joachim Wackerow]

WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT

Using DDI 3.0 to Support Preservation, Management, Access, and
Dissemination Systems for Social Science Data

November 3 - 7, 2008
GESIS Workshop at the Leibniz Center for Informatics
Schloss Dagstuhl, Wadern, Germany

Course Instructors:
Arofan Gregory (Open Data Foundation, Tucson, Arizona, USA)
Wendy L. Thomas (Minnesota Population Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
Joachim Wackerow (GESIS-ZUMA, Mannheim, Germany)

The Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) has produced an international
XML standard for the use of lifecycle information about social science
research data. Version 3.0 was published in April 2008. DDI facilitates
the automation of documentation and production systems for the delivery
of social science data. This workshop is geared toward the staff of
archives and data producing agencies. The five-day structure of this
workshop provides the participants with an opportunity for in-depth
assistance on the specialized features of DDI that are important to
their organization's activities.

New features in DDI 3.0 support:

* metadata capture from planning and production to dissemination and
analysis
* reuse of metadata to drive subsequent production or analysis processes
* ISO 11179 compliant data registries such as question, variable, and
concept banks
* grouping of study series for longitudinal and comparative research
* capturing comparative information for the creation of harmonized data
* improved capture of archival information for data organization and
management

The workshop provides the opportunity to get an in-depth look at this
major new release of DDI. The workshop is organized in cooperation with
the DDI Alliance. Further information on DDI can be found below.

Intended audience: anyone interested in DDI, no prior knowledge of DDI
or XML is required.

Further information on the workshop is available at the GESIS workshop
pages:
http://www.gesis.org/Veranstaltungen/ZUMA/Workshops/WS_2008/DDI_2008-11.htm

Kind regards, Joachim Wackerow

-- 
GESIS - German Social Science Infrastructure Services
http://www.gesis.org/en/


--
Information about DDI 3.0

The new paradigm of DDI 3.0 embraces the full life cycle of the data
from conception, through development of the data collection instrument,
collection and cleaning of data, production of data products,
distribution, preservation, and reuse or analysis of the data.

The structure of the new DDI 3.0 is designed to facilitate sharing
concept schemes, question schemes, category and coding schemes, and
variables schemes within organizations or throughout the social science
research community.

With a goal of capturing and preserving metadata on the full and
continuing life-cycle of data from conception to preservation,
distribution, application, and reuse, DDI 3.0 is providing the
structural support needed to facilitate comparative survey work in a way
that was previously unavailable in an open, non-proprietary system.

Important innovations in DDI 3.0 include:

* An underlying data model that permits the expression of the model in
alternative technologies
* Coverage of more of the data life cycle, with an emphasis on data
collection
* Modular design
* Enhanced support for multiple languages
* Support for variable comparison and harmonization
* Structured mechanisms for identification and versioning that enable
the creation of registries like question banks
* Core HTML for formatting of unstructured text
* Elimination of redundancies through a new grouping model and an
extensive set of reusable elements
* Capability to create "DDI profiles" for specific uses
* Mechanism to carry data inline
* Alignment with other metadata standards, including Dublin Core
(cross-domain information resource description), SDMX (time-series
data), ISO 11179 (metadata registry), and FGDC and ISO 19115 (geographic
standards)
* Extensibility

Links:
DDI 3.0: http://www.ddialliance.org/ddi3/
DDI Alliance: http://www.ddialliance.org/org/
DDI: http://www.ddialliance.org/