Data Documentation Initiative

{{Infobox technology standard

| title = DDI Metadata Standard

| long_name = Data Documentation Initiative Metadata Standard

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| image = Data_Documentation_Initiative_Logo.png

| caption = DDI

| status = Production Use

| year_started = {{Start date|1995}}

| first_published = {{Start date|1996}}

| version = [http://www.ddialliance.org/Specification/DDI-Lifecycle/3.3/ DDI 3.3]

| version_date = {{Start date and age|2020|04|15}}

| preview =

| preview_date =

| organization = DDI Alliance

| committee = Scientific Board and Technical Committee

| editors =

| authors =

| base_standards =

| related_standards = XML

| abbreviation = DDI

| domain = Questionnaires Metadata Standard Statistical survey

| license = Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

| website = {{URL|ddialliance.org}}

}}

The Data Documentation Initiative (also known as DDI) is an international standard for describing surveys, questionnaires, statistical data files, and social sciences study-level information. This information is described as metadata by the standard.

Begun in 1995,[http://www.ddialliance.org/what/history.html DDI History] the effort brings together data professionals from around the world to develop the standard. The DDI specification, most often expressed in XML, 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.[http://www.ddialliance.org/ About DDI]

Version 2 (also called "Codebook") of the DDI standard has been implemented in the Dataverse data repository and the data archives of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. The latest version 3.3 (also called "Lifecycle") of the DDI standard was released in 2020.[https://ddialliance.org/Specification/DDI-Lifecycle/3.3/ DDI Specification]{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}