Intro to Metadata
Resources to help people use your data
Last updated
Resources to help people use your data
Last updated
Metadata is "data that provides information about other data". Simply, metadata is the information you will include with your dataset when you publish it. It should help people understand how to use the dataset and how the dataset was made.
See an example of a completed metadata page on the open data portal here.
When you create a new dataset in the Open Data Portal, you will be prompted to include metadata. Some fields are required while others are optional. The more information you include, the easier it will be for others to utilize your dataset.
Use our Metadata Template to start with metadata
The next page contains our metadata standards for each field but at a high level there are two types of metadata you should configure:
Dataset metadata is information about the dataset overall: how was the dataset created, how should the data be used, what does each row represent? Essentially it is a primer for anyone who is interested in using the data.
Dataset Metadata can be added in the open data portal, on a draft page, by clicking on the Edit Dataset Metadata section (see screenshot below).
Dataset metadata should use the following template for the "Description" Section:
Column Metadata is information on each individual column in the dataset. Each column should have a short description of what the column represents and how to use it. This metadata can be filled out by clicking on the "Edit Column Metadata" field in the Open Data Portal.
Column Metadata is especially important if the columns have abbreviated names such as "dt" instead of "date" as it will ensure there is a human readable version of the variable. If possible, also link to any additional documentation on how the variable was created. Below is how metadata will be rendered in the open data portal.
There are three required columns in every dataset:
data_as_of
data_loaded_at
a primary key
See Metadata Standards to learn more
