Data Documentation Initiative (DDI)
From the website:
The Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) is an effort to create an international standard for describing data from the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Expressed in XML, the DDI metadata specification now supports the entire research data life cycle. DDI metadata accompanies and enables data conceptualization, collection, processing, distribution, discovery, analysis, repurposing, and archiving.
Two current development lines:
DDI-Lifecycle
Encompassing all of the DDI-Codebook specification and extending it, DDI-Lifecycle is designed to document and manage data across the entire life cycle, from conceptualization to data publication and analysis and beyond. Based on XML Schemas, DDI-Lifecycle is modular and extensible.
Users new to DDI are encouraged to use this DDI-Lifecycle development line as it incorporates added functionality. Use DDI-Lifecycle if you are interested in:
- Metadata reuse across the data life cycle
- Metadata-driven survey design
- Question banks
- Complex data, e.g., longitudinal data
- Detailed geographic information
- Multiple languages
- Compliance with other metadata standards like ISO 11179
- Process management and automation
The current version of the DDI-L Specification is Version 3.1. DDI 3.1 was published in October 2009, superseding DDI 3.0 (published in April 2008).
DDI-Codebook
DDI-Codebook is a more light-weight version of the standard, intended primarily to document simple survey data. Originally DTD-based, DDI-C is now available as an XML Schema.
The current version of DDI-C is 2.5.
Be aware that micro-data in DDI was mentioned in The RDF Data Cube Vocabulary draft as a possible target for “extension” of that proposal.
Suggestions of other domain specific data vocabularies?
Unlike the W3C I don’t see the need for an embrace and extent strategy.
There are enough vocabularies, from ancient to present-day to keep us all busy for the foreseeable future. Without trying to restart every current vocabulary effort.