Table of Terms with Commonly Used Words

Last modified by Artur K. on 2026/05/29 17:16

Name	Definition	Comment
Artefact	Abstract concept denoting an element in the SDMX model having specific characteristics which are inherited by other elements.	Artefacts provide features which are reusable by derived elements to support general functionality such as identity, versioning etc.Examples of SDMX artefacts are "Identifiable Artefacts " and "Maintainable Artefacts".
Attachment level	Property of an attribute defining the object to which data or metadata are linked.	For each attribute specified in a data structure, there is a definition of whether this attribute takes a: value for each observation in the Data Set; value for each time series in the Data Set; value for each group in the Data Set; single value for the entire Data Set. Some metadata concepts (e.g. frequency) may not be meaningful at the observation level, but only when applied to a higher level (e.g. to a time series of observations). Time, on the other hand, is meaningful at observation level, because every observation is associated with a specific point or period in time. Data Structure Definitions and Metadata Structure Definitions provide information about the level at which a particular concept descriptor is relevant: at observation level, time series level, group level, dataset level or even Agency level. This is known as the "attachment level" of the concept.This is a version 2.0 construct. In version 2.1 this is known as the "Attribute Relationship".
Codelist	Predefined set of terms from which some statistical coded Concepts take their values.	The SDMX technical standards are sufficiently generic to allow institutions to adopt and implement any specific representation. However, the use of common Codelists will facilitate users to work even more efficiently as it eases the maintenance of, and reduces the need for, mapping systems and interfaces delivering data and metadata to users. Therefore, a choice over Codelists has a great impact on the efficiency of data sharing.From version 2.1 of the standard it is possible to exchange and disseminate a partial Codelist which is extracted from the full Codelist and which supports the dimension values valid for a particular Data Structure Definition (DSD). The content of the partial Codelist is specified on a Constraint and can be specified for any object to which a Constraint may be attached. This makes it possible to use common (and often quite large) Codelists in multiple DSDs and then to limit their content for use in a specific DSD.
Education level	Ordered set which groups and classifies education programmes according to the knowledge, skills, competencies and qualifications which they are designed to impart.	The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), maintained by the Institute for Statistics (UIS) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), is used to classify programmes and their resulting qualifications into levels and fields of education. It is a widely-used global reference classification for education systems which provides a comprehensive framework for organising education programmes and qualifications by applying uniform and internationally agreed definitions to facilitate comparisons of education systems across countries.ISCED is the international framework for assembling, compiling and analysing cross-nationally comparable data related to students, teachers, educational attainment and education expenditure. ISCED 2011 is the second major revision of this classification (initially developed in the 1970s and revised in 1997). It was adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in November 2011.
Hierarchical Code	Code reference that is part of a hierarchy.	The Hierarchical Code references a Code in a Codelist and can have child Hierarchical Codes. It can also reference a Level in a Hierarchical Codelist.
Hierarchy	Classification structure arranged in levels of detail from the broadest to the most detailed level.	Each level of the classification is defined in terms of the categories at the next lower level of the classification.In SDMX this is known as a level based hierarchy. SDMX also has the concept of the value based hierarchy where the hierarchy of categories are not organised into formal levels.
Map	Correspondence between two or more objects.	In SDMX there are several different types of correspondence that are contained in StructureSet artefacts and have different types: StructureMap: Used for mapping Codes in a Codelist; ItemSchemeMap: Used for mapping different schemes such as ConceptSchemeMap, CategorySchemeMap, CodelistMap; HybridCodelistMap: Associates a Codelist and a Hierarchical Codelist. Each map is a correspondence between the items in one scheme or list and the items in second scheme or list, where the schemes or lists must be of the same type (e.g. Codelists to Codelists).The map can be specified at the level of the Dataflow or Data Structure, or the Metadataflow or Metadata Structure. The Map takes into account the Constraints that are attached to the structural artefact that is mapped.
Member Selection	Set of permissible values for one Component of a data or metadata structure.	This is a part of a Constraint.
Member Value	Single value of the set of values for a Member Selection.	This is a part of a Constraint.
Metadata key value	Value in a Metadata Set of an identifier Component defined in a Metadata Structure Definition.	This is a part of a Constraint.
Versionable Artefact	Construct that contains structures capable of providing a version to an object.	The version is mandatory and other attributes (such as "to" and "from" validity dates) are optional. Versionable Artefacts inherit the capability of having names, identity and Annotations.