[DDI-users] DDI Alliance Public Review: Structured Data Transformation Language (SDTL)

[Jared Lyle]

The DDI Alliance is pleased to announce the Public Review of Structured
Data Transformation Language (SDTL), a new product in the DDI suite of
products that provides a key component of an automated metadata production
process.

SDTL is an independent intermediate language for representing data
transformation commands.  Statistical analysis packages (e.g., SPSS, Stata,
SAS, and R) provide similar functionality, but each one has its own
language and syntax.  SDTL consists of JSON schemas for common operations,
such as RECODE, MERGE FILES, and VARIABLE LABELS.  SDTL provides
machine-actionable descriptions of variable-level data transformation
histories derived from any data transformation language.  Provenance
metadata represented in SDTL can be added to documentation in Data
Documentation Initiative (DDI) and other metadata standards.

SDTL greatly enhances the value of DDI; currently, DDI metadata is almost
always created by data repositories but not by data producers.  Even when
data are born digital, data producers discard provenance information that
could be transported into DDI, because they perform data management and
variable transformations in statistical packages that offer minimal
metadata capabilities.  SDTL and the tools created by the C2Metadata
Project are designed to create a metadata life cycle that parallels the
research data life cycle. The same scripts that are used to transform and
manage variables and data files can be used to update metadata files.  As a
result, data producers can create more accurate and complete DDI metadata
with less time and effort for them and for data repositories.

Links to the specification and instructions for comment are found at
https://ddi-alliance.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DDI4/pages/1120370729/SDTL+Review.
We are eager to obtain feedback from a broad community on this
specification. The comment period is open until August 31, 2020, and we
hope to hear from you. Comments are requested on the content and scope of
the:

   - SDTL Command Language
   - Function Library
   - Pseudo-Code Library
   - Documentation


Jared Lyle
Executive Director, DDI Alliance <https://ddialliance.org/>
ICPSR <https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/>, University of Michigan
lyle at umich.edu

*Follow the DDI Alliance on Twitter <https://www.twitter.com/ddialliance>*
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