The data documentation initiative - The value and significance of a worldwide standard

Effective secondary analysis of social science data requires good documentation. Especially because Internet access has become standard, the problems of reading and understanding the contents of data files have become acute. Resolving these problems requires standards for documenting data, as well as standard formats for both data and documentation that can be read and displayed by computers and software anywhere in the world. To define a documentation standard, representatives of North American and European survey research and data archive organizations have created a Data Documentation Initiative (DDI). This article discusses the value and significance of that effort for the social sciences.