Metadata

Metadata is information that's used to describe the data.

Data analysts use metadata for what tasks:

• combine data
• evaluate data
• interpret a database.

There are three common types of metadata that you'll come across: descriptive, structural, and administrative.

• Descriptive metadata is metadata that describes a piece of data and can be used to identify it at a later point in time.

• Structural data is metadata that indicates how a piece of data is organized and whether it's part of one or more than one data collection.

• Administrative metadata is metadata that indicates the technical source of a digital asset.

Benefits

• Metadata creates a single source of truth by keeping things consistent and uniform.

• Metadata makes data more reliable by making sure it's accurate, precise, relevant, and timely.

Metadata repository

A metadata repository is a database specifically created to store metadata.

Metadata repositories make it easier and faster to bring together multiple sources for data analysis. They do this by describing:

• the state and location of the metadata

• the structure of the tables inside

• how data flows through the repository.

• keep track of who accesses the metadata and when.

Metadata management

Metadata is stored in a single, central location and it gives the company standardized information about all of its data.

Data governance

Data governance is a process to ensure the formal management of a company’s data assets.

It's important to note that data governance is about more than just standardizing terminology and procedures. It's about the roles and responsibilities of the people who work with the metadata every day.