Identify

The University needs to identify its data and understand its meaning if it is to be used or shared effectively.

Both structured and unstructured content needs a name, a defined format and value representation and these naming conventions must be consistent, regardless of whether the data is digital or physical.

We also need a means of referencing and accessing metadata associated with our data (definition, origin, location, domain values, etc). In the same way that an accurate catalogue allows students to locate books in the library, metadata allows systems and users to find and process relevant data. We will consolidate our terminology and meaning into a data dictionary, allowing us to locate and identify thousands of data elements stored across the University’s numerous data sources. Without a data dictionary and metadata (ie the ‘data catalogue’), we risk ignoring or underusing valuable data assets because we do not know they exist. The University wants to treat its data as a truly corporate asset and the Data Strategy has to make it possible for our data to be identified.

By creating a common metadata language and developing a metadata repository, the Data Strategy will help us improve metadata management including:

• Consistency in metadata definitions to prevent data retrieval problems
• Less redundancy of effort and greater consistency across multiple instances of data so it can be reused appropriately
• Maintenance of information across the University that is not dependent on a particular individual’s knowledge
• Greater efficiency, leading to faster research and project delivery