1. Metadata models to support the statistical cycle: IMDB
Alice Born Statistics Canada
UNECE Workshop on Statistical Metadata
July 4 to 6, 2007

2. Outline Survey life cycle and the IMDB IMDB model Data dimension model
Business dimension model
Questionnaire model
Registration
Classification of administered items
Use of metadata in the statistical system

3. Role of the IMDB
Information management – interpretability of Statistics Canada’s 590+ current surveys
Assist in coherence of the data
Promote knowledge sharing across STC and with external users
Preserve corporate memory
Promote reuse of our metadata assets

4. Operational Data Stores
IMDB in the survey life cycle
Data Warehouses
Operations
Management
Quality
Assurance
Analysis
Dissemination
IMDB
Metadata
IMDB
Design
Collect
Edit
Estimate
Tabulate
Publish
Archive
Operational
Data
Registers
Survey
Data
Administrative
Data
Operational Data Stores

5. IMDB metadata model
Corporate Metadata Repository (CMR), which is an extension of ISO/IEC Metadata Registries
Statistical surveys
Sample
Questionnaire
Data sets
Products
Systems
IMDB – data dimension, business dimension, questionnaire model, administration and documents model

6. Data dimension model – ISO/IEC 11179
Data Element
Data Element Concept
Object Class
Survey variable
Property
Conceptual Domain
Value Domain

7. Type of revenues of establishments
Data dimension model
Currently in the IMDB:
85 object classes (statistical units)
290 properties
506 data element concepts (O.C. + property)
202 conceptual domains (representation class + property)
1509 value domains (classifications)
1034 data elements (= representation class + property + object class; variables)
Type of revenues of establishments

8. Business dimension model in the IMDB
Survey
Applications/ Software
Frame and sample
Survey instance
Questionnaire
Datasets
Products (COR)
Survey design
Data elements
Value domains

9. Administered items Administrative layer Methodology Data Element
Statistical Activity
Organization
Survey
Stewardship
Contact
Universe
Documentation
Frame
Identification
Survey instance
Identification
Time Frame
Instrument
Keyword
Question
Classification
Theme
Data file
Methodology
Data Element
Instrument design Sampling Data source Error detection Imputation Estimation Quality evaluation Disclosure control Revisions and seasonal adjustment Data accuracy
Data Element Concept
Administered items
Object Class
Property
Formula
Conceptual Domain
Value Domain

10. Information management - Administered items
Any item that is managed, tracked, organized and registered in a registry
Administered items have
their own set of characteristics specific to the administered item
and shared administrative characteristics which are common to all administered items – administrative layer

11. Information management - Administrative Layer
Shared administrative characteristics
Terminological Designation (Names)
Terminological Description
Time Frame
Organization/Contact
Reference Document1
Version Management
Stewardship/Registration
Classification
1 Reference document is an administered item with all the administrative layer characteristics.

12. IMDB Administrative Layer - Version Management
A snapshot of the information recorded for the administered item.
Rules for creation of a version are established for each type of administered item.

13. Information Management - IMDB Administrative Layer
The administrative layer is used to manage administrative information for all IMDB administered items.
Administered items are managed in a consistent manner.

14. Surveys
Metadata in the IMDB is organized around the survey administered item
Refers to collection, compilation and publication of data measuring characteristics of a population
Three types of surveys are recognized:
Direct
Administrative
Derived

15. Statistical Activities
Group of surveys that share common feature, common explanatory text
E.g., System of National Accounts, Unified Enterprise Statistics, Health Statistics

16. Common metadata set Statistical activity
Survey (direct, administrative, derived)
Target population (population, statistical unit)
Survey instance (each survey process)
Collection instrument (questionnaire) Methodology
Data accuracy
Documentation
Data file
(Data elements, value domains)

17. Common metadata set for survey life cycle
Methodology
Instrument design
Sampling
Collection method
Error detection
Imputation
Estimation
Quality evaluation
Disclosure control
Revisions and seasonal adjustment
Instrument design – questionnaire design, testing
Sampling – frame, stratification, methods
Collection method – mandatory/voluntary, survey type, collection period, follow up, paper/CATI/CAPI
Error detection – capture and edit methods
Imputation – manual/automatic, rates, methods, software
Estimation – non-response adjustments, calibration, weigh-share methods, variance estimation methods

18. Questionnaire model Question block Item_ID Block_type, etc…
Item_ID, etc…
Data element
Item_ID Representation_class, etc…
Response choice
Question_item_ID Response choice, etc…
Question
Item_ID DE_item_ID, etc…
Value domain
Item_ID VD_type, etc…

19. Questionnaire model in the IMDB
Metadata for survey planning and design phase
Does the concept or question already exist?
Metadata discovery - STCWiki
Align with output variables - definitions
Harmonized Content Modules Project
Content development of key socio-demographic data elements (e.g., marital status, age, ethnic origin) in IMDB for registration as a STC standard
Leading to development of standard question blocks and questions – stored in the IMDB
Specifications (i.e., skip patterns, modes) / BLAISE and other code stored in Survey Specification Manager

20. Registration/Stewardship
Registration and stewardship information is managed for each administered item
Who is the owner of the item?
Who is responsible for the item’s information?
Who is responsible for registration?
Verification for editorial, accuracy, bilingual conformance?
State – new, candidate, recorded, qualified, standard, preferred/prescribed standard, retired?
Degree of sharing/harmonization – divisional, branch, agency, provincial, national, international?
Dissemination – Internal, public?
Versioning note

21. Registration Attributes in the IMDB
Three registration attributes:
Registration status – identifies the quality or progression of quality
Registration level – level of conformance or harmonization
Administrative status – stage in the registration process

22. Registration Authority
1. Registration status
Registration Authority
Preferred standard
Retired
(Completeness, accuracy,
adherence to quality and terminological description standards)
Standard
Superseded
Standards Division
Registrar
Qualified
Regular
Registrar
Recorded
Responsible Owner
(Content)
Candidate
Historical
Submitter
Steward
Incomplete
Application

23. Level of conformance or harmonization
2. Registration level
Level of conformance or harmonization
Departmental
International
Recommended
U.S.
Program-specific
Canadian
Survey
Provincial

24. Stages in registration process
3. Administrative status
Stages in registration process
De-registered
Registered
Reserved for edit
New
Not registered

25. Classification of administered items
Organization and classification of the administered item
Keyword
STC taxonomy (28 themes, 200+ sub-themes)
UNECE Classification of International Statistical Activities – data elements
Program Activity Architecture for reporting to Treasury Board Secretariat and to parliament …
Organization of the item’s administrative and item-specific information for different purposes
HTML, Wiki, SDMX, CWM, DDI, XBRL., …

26. Survey design and dissemination phases
Collect
Edit
Estimate
Tabulate
Publish
Concepts
(Object Class, Property,
Data Element Concept)
Data Elements
Questions
Questions Blocks
Classifications
(Conceptual Domain
Value Domain)
Survey
Universe
Frame
Instance
Collection Instrument
Methodology
Data Files
Enterprise Architecture
IMDB

27. Reuse of Information Assets in Applications Development
Classification coding
IMDB
Collection instrument development
Survey Specification Manager; Integrated Questionnaire and Metadata System
Publishing
Other applications
Software Register

28. Reuse of Information Assets Integration with Data
IMDB
Data Warehouses
CANSIM

29. Reuse of Information Assets in Dissemination and information discovery
Wiki
HTML
IMDB
SDMX
One meta data source
many uses for the information
many output formats + =
DDI ?

30. Corporate Memory: Data Files Dissemination and archive phases
Operational
Data
Registers
Survey
Data
Administrative
Data
Operational Data Stores
Public Use
Master File
IMDB
Archival information
Clean Master
File
Archived
Data