Administrative Data in the IAB Metadata Management System

Abstract

The Research Data Centre (FDZ) of the German Federal Employment Agency (BA) at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) prepares and gives access to research data. Beside survey data the IAB provides data deriving from the administrative processes of the BA. This data is very complex and not easy to understand and use. Good data documentation is crucial for the users. DDI provides a data documentation standard that makes documentation and data sharing easier. The latter is especially important for providers of administrative data because more and more other data types are merged with administrative data. Nevertheless there are also some drawbacks when using the DDI standard. Data collection for administrative data differs from data collection for survey data but DDI was established for survey data. At the same time the description of complex administrative data should be simple as possible. IAB and TBA21 are currently carrying out a project to build a Metadata Management System for IAB. The presentation will highlight the documentation needs for administrative data and show how they are covered in the Management System. In addition the need for DDI profiles, comprehensive software tools and future proofed data documentation for multiple data sources will be depicted.