Reference Metadata

Reference Metadata is generally textual information describing the contents and quality of data, but could equally well take other forms such as HTML, PDF or multi-media.

Examples include

• A description of the methodology used to compile a dataset
• Footnotes on individual series
• Information about the quality of complete datasets, or specific series or observations

More specifically, Reference Metadata can be categorised as:
a) "conceptual" metadata, describing the concepts used and their practical implementation, allowing users to understand what the statistics are measuring and, thus, their fitness for use;
b) "methodological" metadata, describing methods used for the generation of the data (e.g. sampling, collection methods, editing processes); and
c) "quality" metadata, describing the different quality dimensions of the resulting statistics (e.g. timeliness, accuracy).