(8) Structural Metadata (V2)
- Avanish Vaghela (Deactivated)
- Charlotte Reynolds
What is “Structural Metadata”?
Simply put, structural metadata describes the variables within a dataset and how they are organised.
How can I upload Structural Metadata for a data model?
Please navigate to the Structural Metadata section on the onboarding wizard of a data model:
Here you will find a description of the metadata fields required, a Excel Template to download and fill in, and an upload function to import your structural metadata file when ready.
What format should this be in?
The standard format required is an excel file which includes a number of basic Metadata Fields. These are generally: Table Name, Table Description, Column Name, Column Description, Data Type, Sensitive (TRUE/FALSE).
Please note this may differ depending on your schema.
To find the exact format required, please navigate to the structural metadata section of your data model and download the Excel Template provided.
What do I need to include?
We recommend sites to provide a data dictionary of structural metadata that includes the following information:
Metadata Field | Completion Guidance | Constraints | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|---|
Table Name * | Name of the table in the dataset. Use a fully qualified name if appropriate. | 255 characters max | Yes |
Table Description | Description of the table in the dataset. | 20,000 characters max | No |
Column Name * | Name of the column in the table dataset | 255 characters max | Yes |
Column Description | Description of the column in the table dataset. | 20,000 characters max | No |
Data Type Name * | Type of data contained in the column. | 255 characters max | Yes |
Sensitive * | Please indicate (True / False) whether the information must be treated as sensitive and may need additional constraints / removal / anonymisation / masking through the data access request process. Definition: An ODRL conformant policy expressing the rights associated with the resource. | True / False only. | Yes |
Please see the following example for your reference:
Structural Metadata Example | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Table Name | Table Description | Column Name | Column Description | Data Type | Sensitive |
Summary | The summary | Identifier | The identifier | String | TRUE |
Summary | The summary | Title | The title | String | FALSE |
Summary | The summary | Description | The description | String | TRUE |
Required | The required elements | Release Date | The release date | Date | FALSE |
Required | The required elements | Data Controller | The controller | String | FALSE |
Required | The required elements | Data Processor | The data processor | String | TRUE |
Required | The required elements | License | The license | String | FALSE |
Recommended | The recommended elements | Periodicity | The periodicity | Integer | TRUE |
Recommended | The recommended elements | Frequency | The frequency | String | FALSE |
Please note this may differ depending on your schema.
To find the exact format required, please navigate to the structural metadata section of your data model and download the Excel Template provided.
Is an Excel spreadsheet the only option in which I can upload metadata?
Definitely not! The simple excel template is used as the low common denominator that makes our "lite" user interface as accessible as possible.
There are several different methods that supervisors can use to import and update metadata. Please see the following page for more information on our import options:Importer - a guide