DDI as a Common Format for Export and Import for Statistical Packages

One of the roles the DDI standard can perform is to serve as a medium for the transfer of metadata and data across both space and time. A crucial component of this role is the ability to represent the data and metadata contained in common data analysis and management packages. This paper describes an experiment using the program Stat/Transfer to move datasets among five popular packages with DDI Lifecycle as an intermediary format. We created a dataset in each of the five packages and then exported it to DDI Lifecycle via Stat/Transfer. We also created a DDI Lifecycle instance and an associated delimited dataset, containing as many of the metadata elements found in any of the five packages possible and then exported it to each of the packages. Success or failure to transfer was recorded for a set of generic metadata elements identified in an earlier paper. Using a commercial file transfer program helped identify which metadata elements were transferrable through a generally available machine actionable process. The experiment revealed some areas for potential improvements to DDI as well as suggestions for data analysis packages and research practices.