Metadata
Definition
Data about data: who collected it, when, how, definitions of fields, and limitations.
Why it matters
Metadata is how you interpret numbers without guessing.
Example
A codebook that defines “unemployed” for a labor survey.
Related terms
Related resources
- W3C Data on the Web Best Practices (opens in new tab)
Standards-oriented checklist for publishing usable, documented datasets.
- Eurostat Statistics Explained glossary (opens in new tab)
Plain-language definitions aligned with official European statistics.