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July 20, 2015Present: Michelle Edwards, Oliver Hopt, Larry Hoyle, Mary Vardigan Managing DDI Codebook in DDI4The group discussed whether it would be possible to reconcile the different approaches to identification if we were to manage DDI Codebook in DDI4 in the future, which is the goal. Currently in DDI Codebook IDs are unique only for the individual instance, not across instances, and the approach of DDI Lifecycle and DDI4 is to have globally unique IDs for all DDI objects. It was the sense of the group, however, that the IDs are not a big barrier, either using the URNs or using UUIDs; it should be fairly easy to make a transfer. Scripts can generate UUIDs. We could manage Codebook in DDI4 without taking advantage of referencing and reuse. Also, there is a Local ID in DDI4, which could carry what is currently the ID in DDI Codebook and a UUID could be added. Colectica goes back and forth between DDI Codebook and DDI Lifecyle and they use UUIDs so it would be helpful to talk with them about these issues. There is also a political issue in that DDI Codebook has been handled separately and people feel ownership of it as it stands now. It is used around the world by the IHSN. We want to maintain close relationships with these partners, so we will need to design a system that works for them. We should contact Nesstar to start a conversation about how Nesstar Publisher might make some relatively small changes to accommodate this switch to managing DDI Codebook elements in DDI4. Status of Spreadsheet and ModelingIn the past weeks the Codebook group annotated a spreadsheet – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VDbVz2KRRSX_KEf0IfuE-QqMyTDupftCZfBdBM6VPT8/edit#gid=2125503646 – containing all of the Codebook elements used by CESSDA archives with the objective of determining which elements are currently in DDI4 and which might need to be added. It was the sense of the modelers on the call that the spreadsheet as it stands now is adequate input for the modeling effort. Oliver with support from Larry will start to add classes to Drupal based on the spreadsheet and will get back to the group with any questions. He estimates that he will have a first Codebook View to show in four weeks. |
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August 17, 2015Present: Michelle Edwards, Dan Gillman, Larry Hoyle, Steve McEachern, Mary Vardigan What is the advantage of moving from Codebook to Lifecycle?One benefit is building a collection of reusable instruments in multiple languages. Reusing the census variables in other questionnaires is another area. Something we should promote is building in limited amounts of reuse. It may be possible to incorporate areas of reuse without incorporating in others where we don't see the benefit – variables are an area. Can this be done piecemeal? Most variables are instance and possibly represented variables. As they see the need they can build out to conceptual level. The recent work on ANES and GSS is a good example of this. With the concept management perspective we have, you can always argue that any two usages are different in some way. We will be imprecise in some ways always. There is a push among NSOs for question banks, but there is a recognition that modes affect the responses. Your intent is to measure the same concept. This is why concept management is a powerful idea. One of the problems may be the tools that are needed. We can't yet articulate the use case to build the tools we need. IdentifiersWhat is the best way to proceed in terms of identifiers? Oliver is doing some modeling so we should be able to look at identification based on what he does. Mary will introduce the identifier discussion with Ornulf so we can get Nesstar Publisher on board. We hope there will be a way to use identifiers in DDI-C and append to them to make them unique. In the end we need a unique identifier at what level? Anything that is identifiable in 4 requires a unique identifier. Whether everything that is identifiable in 2 will be in 4 is pretty assured. The IDS in 2 are at the variable level. If variable has a unique identifier and the study has a unique identifier, there should be global uniqueness if we could add the registry ID. In the Linked Data world you could find all the variables in the world related to a concept. Another is the simple fact that many studies are ongoing so the yearly or monthly variables could be looked at across time. Any time you are making comparisons over time, subject, or geography you need this. |