1. OECD Expert Group on Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (Geneva, 10-11 May 2007) Update on technical standards, guidelines and tools Metadata Common Vocabulary (MCV) Work in progress and issues, March 2006- April 2007 Marco Pellegrino Eurostat Denis Ward OECD

2. 1 Metadata Common Vocabulary (M.C.V.) n The MCV is one of the four initiatives launched at the very beginning of SDMX, in 2001-2002. n Presented, for the first time, in “Developing a common understanding of standard metadata components: a statistical glossary”, M. Pellegrino and D. Ward, Workshop on Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange, Washington D.C., 6-7 September 2001.

3. 2 Eurostat-OECD joint initiative (OECD glossary, CODED) Developing a common understanding on meaning of: - general concepts (metadata, quality,…) - basic detailed metadata components Facilitating a mapping of different metadata systems, independently from any specific metadata model Building on existing sources for avoiding a proliferation of “standard” terminologies Starting point

4. 3  Basic idea: When sharing data, we must speak the same language Starting point

5. 4 Expected benefits and use  Improved access to a set of standard definitions of metadata terms through a single entry point  Support to standardisation and consistency of metadata compiled  Facilitate comparisons across geographical entities  Support to XML structures and web services for searching and comparing statistical data and metadata with minimum need to determine “semantic equivalence”  Facilitate mapping of different metadata systems, independently from any specific metadata model

6. 5 Content of MCV by categories (March 2006) Number of terms384 of which: synonyms 29 Definitions355 SDMX exchange terms (authored by “SDMX” or directly related to)138 General Concepts (indirectly related to SDMX)246 Sources used: Almost 70 different published documents or glossaries

7. 6 SDMX MCV Glossary Fields n Title (mandatory) n Definition (mandatory) n Context for the definition (optional, but widely used) n Definition source (mandatory) n Links to related terms within the glossary (optional) n URL to more detailed information (optional)

8. 7 Glossary relationships MCV (380) Eurostat - OECD Glossaries (7 600) SDMX cross domain Concepts (26) SDMX cross domain Concepts (26) Eurostat / OECD Terminology Eurostat / OECD Terminology National terminology National terminology

9. 8 MCV Output Stand-alone file:PDF (from www.sdmx.org) Word / HTML SDMX-ML (in 2007) Web glossary with extraction facilities:Eurostat CODED OECD Glossary Working paper: Eurostat-OECD, “Using the MCV terminology for mapping metadata from different institutions”, METIS work session, Geneva, 3-5 April 2006 http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/ece/ces/ge.40/2006/wp.13.e.pdf http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/ece/ces/ge.40/2006/wp.13.e.pdf

10. 9 MCV – Issues for discussion  Relevance of terms currently in the MCV; suggestions for definitions and additional terms  Use of MCV and common concepts in connection with metadata systems and national glossaries (mapping)  Maintenance and periodic revisions  Use of registry facilities for notifying interest and launching a public review  Discussion and endorsement by the Heads of sponsoring organisations

11. 10 MCV Feedback? Send comments and suggestions to: denis.ward@oecd.org marco.pellegrino@ec.europa.eu Estat-SDMX@ec.europa.eu