What is metadata?

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What is metadata?

• Anne Gro Hustoft, Statistics Norway
• agt_at_ssb.no

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• The content of the course
• A short introduction to different aspects of
  metadata
• Group dicussion

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• Content
• General aspects quality and human issues
• Users
• From vision to practice
• Demonstrations
• Integrated metadata system
• International metadata work
• Group discussions to exchange knowledge and views

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Metadata Data about data Appears in many
contexts, and with different meaning to
different people
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Metanet surveyDo you consider metadata to be
documentation and/or data about data and/or
structured information
Documentation Data about data Structured information
All organisations 100 163 102
NSI 62 106 70
Data archive 20 25 16
Other 18 32 16
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• Statistical metadata has two overall objectives
• to inform the users about the meaning of the data
• to guide statisticians in the processing of data
• One possible definition (Kent et al., Stat.
  Netherlands)
• All the information needed for and relevant to
• collecting, processing, disseminating, accessing,
  understanding
• and using statistical data.

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Extract from participants list
Country INT
United Kingdom 44
Hungary 36
Spain 34
Italy 39
Germany 49
Latvia 371
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Abbreviations
Statistical Sample Bureau Storage
Service Standards Sciences Simple Statistics
Bureau Super Statistics Business
?
SSB
- Statistisksentralbyrå
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• The different users of metadata
• (Kent et al., Stat. Netherlands)
• data providers and interviewers
• need it to understand the data to be collected
• statisticians
• need it for the whole statistical process
• end-users
• need it to find, select, understand, evaluate
  and
• analyse data for their own purpose
• other users

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• Statistical metadata can be categorised in many
  different
• ways - and it is!
• An example of a rough categorisation
• State metadata define concepts (variables,
  classifications...)
• Process metadata methods related to statistical
  processes
• (imputation, revision.)

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• Metadata is also important for
• - improved quality
• increased efficiency
• better communication
• shared knowledge

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• Group discussion
• What is metadata?
• Do you categorise your metadata (e.g. state,
  process)
• and if you do, how?
• What is metadata used for?
• Ideally
• In your everyday work
• In the future