Resource Content¶
Data Table Descriptions¶
Table Information¶
Field |
Best Practice |
Example |
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Table or File Name |
Enter the literal name of the stored object represented by the table. For something like a csv, this would be the filename, while for a single file in a database, this would be the saved name or code of the individual table described. |
2016_2017_arcticCodAges_JQScientist.csv |
Table Title |
Enter a longer, descriptive, and more human-readable title for the dataset |
Arctic Cod Age and Growth Data 2016-2017 |
Table Description |
Use this field to describe the data in the table. This should be human-readable and be useful for helping a would-be user understand if the data is appropriate for their intended use. |
Arctic cod age and growth data, including vessel and haul information, and specimen collection age, sex, fork length, and species information. |
Attribute Information¶
Field |
Best Practice |
Example |
---|---|---|
Attribute Code |
Use this field to document the attribute code or label as it appears in the data file. When the data file is a csv, the Research Workspace will populate this field for you. |
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Attribute Name |
Use this field to provide a human-readable name for the attribute. |
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Attribute Definition |
Definition of the attribute or column, including descriptions of any formatting or codes in the values. |
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Unit |
Use this field to document the units of measurement for the values in the attribute. |
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Data Types¶
Document the data type of the values in each attribute. In the Research Workspace Metadata Editor, this field provides a drop-down of suggested data types, though any other type can be entered by the ambitious metadata author.
Data Type |
Best Practice |
Example |
---|---|---|
character |
Data are of this type when all attribute values are single letters, numbers, or symbols. If character values are codes for classes or categories, it may be more accurate to call your attribute categorical. |
Character values:
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string |
String typed data are plain text, often with formatting restrictions but sometimes without (as in the case of a ‘notes’ or ‘comments’ attribute). |
String values:
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boolean/binary |
Attributes with only two possible values. |
Typical boolean value pairs:
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integer |
Numeric data have are integer-typed when values can be only positive or negative whole numbers. It is considered best practice to describe the range of actual values in the attribute description |
Integer values:
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decimal |
Numeric data have are decimal-typed when they have a period in the middle in the middle of the numeric value. It is considered best practice to describe the range of actual values in the attribute description, and it’s just irresponsible to fail to document the number of significant figures approriate for the value. Also called ‘real’, ‘floating point’, or ‘double’, which mean different things in different places, but all fall under the ‘decimal’ type used here. |
Decimal values:
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date/time |
Any attribute with values describing dates or times, whatever the format, is of the type ‘date/time’. A best practice for this type of data is to document the format used for date and time information in the attribute definition for the field. The very best practice is to always format date/time values in ISO 6801 format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+HH:MM), like all the examples in the next column. |
ISO 6801 formatted date/time values:
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categorical |
Any attribute with values that represent categories or groups into which all values can be sorted, or has a distinct list of possible values. Best practice is to document possible values for categorical attributes using the ‘possible values’ fields described below. |
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Possible Values¶
Field |
Best Practice |
Example |
---|---|---|
Value Name |
Use this field to enter a human-readable name for the value. |
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Value Code |
Use this field to enter the value as it appears in the data. This may be the same as the ‘Value Name’ but often this will be coded or shortened in some way. |
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Definition |
Use this field to provide a useful definition for the value. |
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Data Dictionary Info¶
Field |
Best Practice |
Example |
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Data Dictionary Title |
Use this field to enter a human-readable name for the value. |
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Data Dictionary Scope |
Describe the scope or descriptive coverage of the data dictionary. If the dataset contains many tables or entities, use multiple ‘Data Dictionary Scope’ blocks to make scopes for specfic table(s) less ambiguous. |
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Entity and Attributes Overview |
An overview of all the tables and their contents. |
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External Data Dictionaries¶
Field |
Best Practice |
Example |
---|---|---|
Data Dictionary Citation |
The reference information for the data dictionary, if citable. If not citable, include data dictionary file with dataset and provide the name of that file here. |
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