Colectica: Software for Statistical Data Documentation

The Colectica Platform provides features for statistical agencies, survey research groups, public opinion researchers, data archivists, and other data intensive operations. Colectica can increase the expressiveness and longevity of the data collected through standards-based metadata documentation.

Document the complete data lifecycle

Your study is more than the datasets you distribute. Provide your researchers with rich information about your data, with details about everything from the study concept to data collection and data processing.

Disseminate data

Once you have documented your data, easily publish it online and provide powerful search and browsing tools to your researchers.

Publish your data in multiple languages

Most text fields in Colectica Designer allow you to enter text in multiple languages, allowing you to provide information to your researchers around the world.

Manage and reuse classifications

Colectica allows you to manage, search, and re-use your category and code lists in multiple surveys and datasets.

Annotations and Custom Fields

Sometimes the default metadata fields do not provide the correct semantics required to describe an item. Colectica allows you to add additional information about items in the form of annotations and custom fields.

Design Surveys and Questionnaires

Manage and re-use survey questions

Colectica allows you to create, discover, and re-use survey questions.

Design questionnaires

Colectica provides a visual survey instrument designer. Using a structured designer enables simple re-use of questions and other instrument constructs. The questionnaire designer also makes it easy to track the versions of your survey and questions.

Analyze questionnaires

Colectica can analyze survey questionnaires and produce reports showing the estimated time to complete a survey, which items may be unreachable, and other useful diagnostic information.

Import existing survey instruments

If you use Blaise® or CASES, Colectica Designer can import your source code and allow you to document and re-use your existing questions and surveys.

Generate computer-assisted interviewing source code

Based on the survey you designed, Colectica can automatically generate source code for your Computer Assisted Interviewing (CAI) system.

Generate paper questionnaires

Colectica can generate paper questionnaires in PDF, HTML, and Rich Text formats.

Publish Documentation

Create electronic and paper codebooks

Colectica can automatically generate documentation for your study in PDF, HTML, and Rich Text formats.

Publish metadata to the Web

Colectica Portal is a web application, powered by Colectica Repository, which enables data and metadata publication and discovery.

Generate statistical source code

Colectica Designer can automatically generate statistical command files consisting of variable definitions and labels, for R, SAS, SPSS, and Stata.

Import

Import metadata from standard formats

Colectica can import metadata from several formats, including DDI 3, DDI 2/Nesstar, Excel, and delimited text formats.

Import datasets

Colectica can import data from SPSS and Stata datasets.

Export to Open Standards

Export to open standards

All data managed by Colectica is stored internally using open data standards. This means you do not have any worries about vendor lock-in or about losing your information. You can always access your data in a well-defined format.

Work with DDI 3 the easy way

Colectica uses DDI 3 as its native storage format. This means everything you manage or view in Colectica can be exported as DDI 3, an open data format. Colectica also provides several tools that make it easier to work with DDI 3.

Metadata Repository and Version Management

Synchronize with metadata repositories

Colectica Designer allows you to synchronize your work with Colectica Repository. This allows you to collaborate with multiple people while working on the same project.

Search and re-use items from metadata repositories

Colectica allows you to search for items located in a repository. Colectica can search your local repository, or one or more remote repositories.

Manage metadata versions automatically

Colectica's repository-based approach means that all changes to any item are automatically tracked. Colectica provides an easily-accessible, full version history.