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KUDAF

KUDAF is about sharing data in the Norwegian knowledge sector. Metadata means "data about data", and is defined as the data providing information about one or more aspects of the data (Wikipedia).

The field names and data values that can be obtained from a data source are not necessarily self-explanatory, and were likely not designed to make sense to external agents. That's the reason we need detailed metadata, containing information about:

  • Definitions
  • Identifiers
  • Measurement units
  • Measurements
  • Coding
  • Etc..

This document describes how the Kudaf project uses metadata to enable data consumers (e.g. researchers) to find and request the data they need from data providers.

How this data is actually kept by the data provider, and how to obtain it, is an entirely different matter. KUDAF aims at abstracting that as much as possible in order to concentrate on the data description part, which is what the data consumer is mostly concerned with.

The information about this shared data has two fundamental levels:

  • Catalog/Discovery level: Upon entering Kudaf, the end-user can browse a Data Catalog of all the available data. The Kudaf Catalog provides a top-level overview of all Datasets/APIs shared by the different Data Providers, but no details about the data contained therein.
  • Variables/Evaluation level: Describes the data within the different Datasets.