Page Comparison

IT-specific terms are available here: Glossary of Terms

• Standards: Summary of units and data fields that facilitate aggregation of data through the WDI so that we have a common format (and minimal set of details) that information is being reported/displayed.

  • Data standards

  include both an identification of relevant entries as well as definition of entries and where reasonable, inclusion of units associated with entries. Metadata standards are similar in that they identify relevant entries, describe entries, and include units but are focused on properties that are data-agnostic

  • describe the kinds of information we want to include for a given dataset/data type. For example, for groundwater levels, this would capture information about date, depth below to ground surface, etc.

  • Metadata standards describe the format in which data is collected or recorded (e.g.,

  well info where both quantity and quality measurements can be captured)

• Crosswalks capture alignment of content across diverse column names/entries within agency databases

• Dictionary describe the column names…

  • YYYY-MM-DD for dates and feet for depth below ground surface).

    • Descriptive metadata may capture methodological details about how data is collected

  • Units within original data sources can be of any format but should be well-described to facilitate integration.

• Crosswalks describe how information within original data sources align with the data and metadata standards (e.g., see example here: …)

• Dictionary describe the column names, format of information, and can include a description of units where necessary.