Data Documentation Initiative

The Data Documentation Initiative (also known as DDI) is an <a href="/facts/International_standard/9R3SMtfH">international standard</a> for describing <a href="/facts/Survey_data_collection/FtCDTUoT">surveys</a>, <a href="/facts/Questionnaire/15o4lgqm">questionnaires</a>, statistical data files, and social sciences <a href="/facts/Survey_methodology/vgqyWzAY">study-level information</a>. This information is described as <a href="/facts/Metadata/qt35z79C">metadata</a> by the standard.
Begun in 1995, the effort brings together data professionals from around the world to develop the standard. The DDI specification, most often expressed in <a href="/facts/XML/clNgUfWk">XML</a>, provides a format for content, exchange, and preservation of questionnaire and data file information. DDI supports the description, storage, and distribution of social science data, creating an international specification that is machine-actionable and web-friendly.
Version 2 (also called "Codebook") of the DDI standard has been implemented in the <a href="/facts/Dataverse/hTATnT07">Dataverse</a> data repository and the data archives of the <a href="/facts/Inter-university_Consortium_for_Political_and_Social_Research/HVsqKtLQ">Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research</a>. The latest version 3.3 (also called "Lifecycle") of the DDI standard was released in 2020.

Data Documentation Initiative open-in-new

Data Documentation Initiative