A Journey into (meta)data management with DDI

Since 2020, the French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) has undertaken a significant transformation in its data dissemination and metadata production processes. Following a thorough evaluation of alternatives to the Nesstar software to the implementation of the NADA Microdata Cataloging Tool and the metadata update and migration process, we are now two years into using NADA. We devised a refined documentation and publication routine, supported by a suite of tools that enable us to adhere to the best practices of DDI Codebook, FAIR principles and European standards. The metadata production is carried out using a formatted Microsoft Word form, supplemented by R scripts. Information at the variable level (labels and attributes) is retrieved through the use of R scripts. Finally, the publication of metadata from related publications down to the variable level is made easy thanks to the user-friendly interface and straightforward administration of NADA. In this presentation, we will focus on this new process and provide a hands-on overview of our documentation workflow from data acquisition to publication. Special attention will be given to catalog administration and the publication stage.