Terminology and Standards Dan Gillman US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Terminology Principle –  To communicate, we need to agree on terms Concept – – unit of thought Term – – linguistic expression (similar to a word) linked to a concept Special Language – – set of terms describing a subject field 2

Terminology Examples of special languages  Probability and statistics  Database theory  Statistical metadata  Statistical activity within each SI – E.g., US Current Population Survey Labor force Unemployed  Union of special languages within SI 3

Projects UNECE Metadata Glossary  Glossary (a.k.a. Vocabulary) – – Alphabetical listing of terms and their definitions BLS Taxonomy and Lexicon  Taxonomy (artefact, not the science) – – Scheme for organizing terms within some subject field, typically a hierarchy  Lexicon – – Vocabulary, or dictionary, of terms 4

UNECE Metadata Glossary Create glossary of terms  In order of importance – UNECE statistical metadata standards GSIM, GSBPM, GAMSO, CSPA, etc. – Other statistical metadata standards DDI, SDMX, etc. – Other standards and specifications Maybe ISO/IEC 11179, Dublin Core, etc. Disseminate in user-friendly format 5

UNECE Metadata Glossary Build special language for  Statistical institutes – Designing metadata systems – Building interfaces to metadata systems – Message frameworks for sharing metadata Establish authoritative source  Terms  Definitions  For international use 6

BLS Taxonomy and Lexicon Project to  Record terms describing BLS data – For all disseminated time series – Separate terms into facets Measures (estimates on populations) Characteristics (classifications used to subset measures)  Produce – Taxonomy – hierarchy of terms – Lexicon – list of terms 7

BLS Taxonomy and Lexicon Goals  For each term, find related documents and data – organize data – use taxonomy – tag documents – use lexicon  Use taxonomy to drive and guide – Web site reorganization  Provide plain English equivalent words – Help unsophisticated users find resources – Alleviate common confusions 8

BLS Taxonomy and Lexicon Plain English examples  Inflation – CPI  Field of work – industry or occupation  Wages, earnings, income, compensation Plain English names for categories Authoritative source for BLS language 9

Usage of Terms Metadata models  Names of classes, attributes, relationships  E.g., Universe, Category, Specialization Metadata content  Content stored in attributes in a model  E.g., establishment, retail grocery store, etc. Terminology systems  Authoritative sources for terms / meaning 10

Standards Why standards?  Consistency – Eliminate inconsequential (gratuitous) differences Spelling and phrasing differences  Semantic interoperability – Shared meaning w/o need for negotiation  Data harmonization – Ability to combine data from different sources 11

Standards Many levels  Program, Agency, National, Regional, International Weaker condition  Authoritative sources – Term and meaning for some subject field(s) E.g., unemployed in US CPS Plain English -> not employed US CPS -> not employed but still in Labor Force – Not necessarily standard 12

Standards Consistency and Interoperability  Handled by authoritative sources  Use URI’s to terminological entries  Spelling and phrasing differences eliminated  Access to meaning ensured But,  Differences across subject fields remain 13

Standards Data Harmonization  Authoritative sources not sufficient – Subject fields may differ – Gratuitous differences may exist too  Need new standards and agreements – Bilateral agreements not scalable  Multiple standards on same subject a problem – E.g., Geographical standards (US MSA vs. CSA) – BLS has 6 definitions of Boston 14

Contact Information Dan Gillman

Using the BLS Template (slide hidden from show; may be relocated or deleted) CORE slides – Presentation Title (slide 2) and Contact Info (slide 4) - are mandatory; these have a blue background regardless of the color of the Content slides Other slides – all called Content slides – are optional and available as layout options  Content slides in this template have a white background Using the layouts  To insert slide: Home tab > use New Slide drop down to select – Note that default layout will be the same as previous slide (relative to current location)  To change current layout: Home tab > use Layout drop down to select  On blank slide, click to add text or click diagram placeholder in center to add chart, table, etc. Footers (e.g. date or page numbers)  Insert tab > Header & Footer button > Slide tab > check/uncheck appropriate boxes Font types and sizes are preset; font type (Tahoma) may not be altered  Font may shrink as text expands but, for readability, use font size 20+ – Avoid using bullets (or numbered list) beyond the 3 rd level – Bullet types and colors have been preformatted and should not be altered if used; however, you may use numbered lists of your choosing (color should remain the same as default bullets) Refer to BLS PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines for detailed instructions & guidelinesBLS PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines Last updated: 8/26/09 16