Looking into the future…

DDI workshopIASSIST 2006

Jim Jacobs

First principles Metadata are data about data -- information

about information. It’s all about having complete, accurate, re-

usable metadata. Software to process the metadata is

secondary. We should be able to have metadata today that we know will be usable in unforeseeable computing environments (operating systems, software, hardware).

First principles

Metadata should be… Comprehensive Complete Uncompromised Consistent Flexible Sharable Usable and re-usable Preservable

Parseable by computer

Documented Non-proprietary

How XML fits in…

XML is designed to be parseable with generic tools.

XML can encode meaning and can be self-documenting

XML is non-proprietary, open, flexible.

How XML fits in…

XML is designed to make it easy to find and usejust the elements you need from a large document.

“Cherry picking”

How XML fits in… <stdyDscr> <citation> <titlStmt> <titl>Great Power Wars, 1495-1815</titl> <IDNo>9955</IDNo> </titlStmt> <rspStmt> <AuthEnty>Levy, Jack S.</AuthEnty> </rspStmt> <prodStmt> <fundAg>National Science Foundation.</fundAg> <grantNo>SES86-10567</grantNo> </prodStmt> <distStmt> <distrbtr abbr="ICPSR" affiliation="Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan" URI="http;//www.icpsr.umich.edu">Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research</distrbtr> <distDate date="1994-05-20">1994-05-20</distDate> </distStmt><serStmt> </serStmt> <verStmt> <dateAdded>1994-05-20</dateAdded> <dateUpdated>1994-05-20</dateUpdated> </verStmt> <biblCit>Levy, Jack S. GREAT POWER WARS, 1495-1815 [Computer file]. New Brunswick, NJ and Houston, TX: Jack S. Levy and T. Clifton Morgan …

<titl>Great Power Wars, 1495-1815</titl>

You can cherry-pick just what you need from a large XML document…

From legacies to the future

SAS SPSS OSIRIS PDF Paper Data dictionary Etc.

HTML PDF Any stat package Nesstar Library OPAC Google OAI RSS RDF DDI 2, 3, 4…

DDI

From many contributors to many uses

researcher Data collector Analysts Data producer,

distributor Data archivists Data librarians Users of statistics Analysts researchers

The web Live documents Databases publications Data archives Data libraries Institutional

repositories Secondary analysis New research New knowledge

DDI