Data Quality Metadata: The ISO 19157 Conceptual Model is Comprehensive and Flexible

Abstract:

The ISO19157:2013 standard provides a generic conceptual model for data quality metadata that can be applied to many data types in many domains. The model is built around the concept of a data quality element from one of over twenty general classes including completeness, consistency, temporal quality, positional accuracy, temporal quality and usability. Each element includes a link to a description of a quality measure, a description of how that measure was used to evaluate data quality, one of four kinds of results (conformance, quantitative, descriptive, and coverage), and multiple citations to reference materials and more detailed descriptions of the measures and methods. Finally, the standard includes the concept of metaquality, i.e. quality of the quality data, as well as the capability to cite stand-alone quality reports from the literature. This model provides the depth and detail required to help users evaluate data trustworthiness and the flexibility to cover many commonly used approaches to measuring data quality. In addition, the model can be represented using XML, RDF, JSON, or other popular representations. These model characteristics will be demonstrated using with real-world examples from Earth Science.