DDI Adoption Metrics – Insights from a KonsortSWD Short Project

DDI metadata standards are widely used to describe especially tabular data in depth, including their columns/variables. According to re3data.org, a global registry of research data repositories, they are the most prevalent standards with these capabilities. Additionally, re3data.org identifies OAI-PMH as the most widely adopted protocol for harvesting such metadata, with many endpoints available at re3data.org.

Building on this, Wenzig and Han (2024, doi:10.29173/iq1116) recently analyzed over 250,000 data records in the DDI-Codebook format from various sources. Their methods can be adapted for continuous monitoring of metadata usage and availability. Such an approach could help new users identify where and how other institutions implement DDI standards, offering concrete starting points for further research and community engagement.

A project funded by KonsortSWD – NFDI4Society is advancing these efforts with the following key deliverables:

• Development of metrics on DDI standard adoption, including the number of institutions using DDI, number of institutions providing DDI metadata through standardized methods, and statistics about the availability of records in the different DDI standards (DDI-Codebook, DDI-Lifecycle, DDI-CDI).
• Publication of datasets containing raw data for these metrics from each survey crawl.
• An experimental dashboard displaying these metrics alongside links to individual metadata records and repositories.

This talk will provide an inside on the project’s results, which serves two immediate goals:

1. Visualizing the adoption of DDI metadata standards.
2. Encouraging institutions that have not yet made their metadata accessible to do so, enhancing their visibility within the community.

v2-Update: Two minor changes in the presentation.

v3-Update: Data and statistcs from 2nd crawl in July 2025.

v4-Update: Data and statistics from 3rd crawl in September 2025