Controlled Vocabularies - A New Product of the DDI Alliance

The DDI Alliance is publishing controlled vocabularies for a number of descriptive elements that are frequently used in data documentation. These vocabularies are issued as a separate product from the DDI schemas. They are declared in Genericode - an XML standard for defining code lists and an OASIS committee specification - and they are suitable to use in conjunction with DDI 3 and DDI 2 elements, as well as any matching elements in other data documentation standards. Multiple language translations are also supported. Our presentation will review the first set of published vocabularies, demonstrate how they can be accessed and used, and will offer a preview of those lists on which work is still in progress. We will also discuss the Controlled Vocabularies Working Group's approach to building these code lists, some of the challenges we faced, as well as plans to manage and develop the vocabularies moving forward.