An attempt is being made to standardize data formats for clinical
research data; see http://www.cdisc.org/.
AJD
-----Original Message-----
From: A UK-based worldwide e-mail broadcast system mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Allan Reese (Cefas)
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 5:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Getting datasets into standard formats
[Abridged message to Alan]
There is NO standard - nothing I've been able to trace. So-called
metadata standards are computer science ideas that make data
syntactically compatible but say nothing about semantics.
eg: XML requires every dataset to have a title. My title is "Shan't
tell"
XSL allows equivalences like "what I call sex, you call gender" but
doesn't suggest how we rigorously check codes are equivalent or how the
values were observed. Under apartheid in South Africa people were the
colour a policeman had allocated to them.
However, I have worked on a local standard which has been promoted to a
small extent to emphasize the gap. Am happy to send description as PDF
attachment on request.
For software-based standards, see advice on www.data-archive.ac.uk
Allan
-----Original Message-----
From: A UK-based worldwide e-mail broadcast system mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Alan Statistics
Sent: 19 February 2008 03:55
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Getting datasests into standard formats
With Respect
I want information about the storing and processing of data for
future use; I know very little about this. I have no institutional base.
I find that to deposit data with the icpsr it is "strongly
encouraged" that it be in a SAS transport, SPSS portable or Stata file
How do I transform Access and Excel datasets into one of those and how
much formatting can I preserve? Which of those would you recommend as
best for storing and manipulating data? Are there on-line services
offering translation into those formats for a fee?
For future reference, what open format would you recommend storing
data in so they can be manipulated as in a database or spreadsheet?
Which would be best for exploring agreement/disagreement between
subjects in a survey?
I have no information about the Data Documentation Initiative
referred to by A. Michelle Edwards in her reply to CDIS. I note that the
icpsr formats are proprietary.
Yours Sincerely,
Alan E. Dunne
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