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1 +Category|Code list|Component|Concept|Content-Oriented Guidelines|Data set|Global registry|Metadata repository|Reference metadata|SDMX Information Model|SDMX Registry|SDMX Technical Specification|SDMX-EDI|Statistical data and metadata exchange|Statistical subject-matter domain
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6 6  
7 7  This chapter provides some background on the [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] Initiative, the issues which [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] addresses, the history of the standards and guidelines which have come out of this initiative, and the areas in which [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] is playing a role today. This chapter also provides some guidance about how prospective users should think about [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] as it relates to their own part of the statistical process.
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9 -[[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] offers a wide variety of technical tools, and these – like any tools – if used well, they produce positive results.. [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] also offers a set of guidelines regarding the application of harmonized statistical (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)concepts(%%) to [[data sets>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Data set.WebHome]], and how these can be represented. Other guidelines address the classification of statistical data and domains, and the harmonization of relevant terminology. Additionally, [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] represents a framework for the process of harmonization within domains. All of these different aspects are considered here.
9 +[[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] offers a wide variety of technical tools, and these – like any tools – if used well, they produce positive results. [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] also offers a set of guidelines regarding the application of harmonized statistical[[ concepts>>doc:Glossary.Concept.WebHome]] to [[data sets>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Data set.WebHome]], and how these can be represented. Other guidelines address the classification of statistical data and domains, and the harmonization of relevant terminology. Additionally, [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] represents a framework for the process of harmonization within domains. All of these different aspects are considered here.
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11 11  == 2.2 Background – Official Statistics ==
12 12  
13 -[[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] comes out of the world of official statistics. If you work for a national or international statistical agency, you already understand “official statistics”, but many people who work with statistical data may not understand this domain, so we will provide a brief, high-(% style="color:#e74c3c" %)level(%%) description.
13 +[[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] comes out of the world of official statistics. If you work for a national or international statistical agency, you already understand “official statistics”, but many people who work with statistical data may not understand this domain, so we will provide a brief, high-level description.
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15 15  “Official statistics” are the data which is collected and disseminated by a set of governmental and international organizations to provide the factual basis for making policy and supporting research. Some countries have a “national statistical office” (NSO) while others may have several governmental organizations which are charged with collecting statistical data for governmental use. Most countries also have central banks or similar organizations which collect and disseminate financial and economic data.
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19 19  These national organizations typically report their statistics to a set of supra-national organizations, representing either regions of the globe (examples include Eurostat and the European Central Bank) or domains (examples include the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNESCO, and the World Bank). Many of these organizations belong to the UN, or are treaty organizations.
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21 -All of these organizations exchange, report, and disseminate data in a chain which can be understood as starting at the lowest (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)level(%%) within each country, and resulting in highlevel [[data sets>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Data set.WebHome]] which are “aggregated” as they move through various (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)levels(%%) to reach the international (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)level(%%).
21 +All of these organizations exchange, report, and disseminate data in a chain which can be understood as starting at the lowest level within each country, and resulting in highlevel [[data sets>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Data set.WebHome]] which are “aggregated” as they move through various levels to reach the international level.
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23 23  The system of official statistics is this network of reported data, according to legal requirements or other types of agreements. There are several important meetings, conferences, and initiatives within this system, so that all organizations adopt similar approaches and techniques, and to coordinate reporting: the Conference of European Statisticians is an important meeting, as is the United Nations Statistical Commission meeting. Ultimately the goal is to measure important phenomenon occurring in the world, and to report the data to policy makers, students, journalists, and other users to help inform their activity. The data is “official” because it comes with the reputation of the world’s governments and international institutions behind it.
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49 49  Thus, the goals of the [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] initiative were ones which were broadly agreed across the sponsoring organizations, and within the official statistics community generally. It is important to understand that there were some firm foundations on which [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] was building:
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51 51  1. An existing standard for exchanging statistical data, known as GESMES/TS, was already in use among several of the sponsor organizations and their nationallevel counterparties. This was based not on modern Web technologies such as XML, but used the older UN/EDIFACT syntax.
52 -1. The work on the “metadata common vocabulary” was based on many years of harmonization work within the community, notably Eurostat’s (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)//Concept//(%%)// and Definitions Database (CODED)// and the //OECD Glossary of Terms//.
52 +1. The work on the “metadata common vocabulary” was based on many years of harmonization work within the community, notably Eurostat’s (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)//Concept//(%%)// and Definitions Database (CODED)// and the //OECD Glossary of Terms//.
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54 54  The formation of the [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] Initiative can be understood as a recognition by the sponsor organizations that working together to address these issues, and that coordinating business approaches using modern, standards-based technology, was the best way forward. In one sense, [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] evolved from earlier work, but indicated the increased commitment the sponsors had toward reaching its goals. It also represents a comingtogether of efforts around harmonizing statistical content and terminology, and for deploying technology to support statistical processes.
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68 68  Within the content-oriented work, there are a set of work products: //The Content Oriented Guidelines, //and 5 annexes:
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70 -1. Cross-Domain (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)Concepts
71 -1. Cross-Domain Codelists
70 +1. Cross-Domain [[Concepts>>doc:Glossary.Concept.WebHome]]
71 +1. Cross-Domain [[Codelists>>doc:Glossary.Code list.WebHome]]
72 72  1. Statistical Subject-Matter Domains
73 73  1. Metadata Common Vocabulary
74 74  1. [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]]-ML for the [[Content-Oriented Guidelines>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Content-Oriented Guidelines.WebHome]] ((% style="color:#e74c3c" %)Concepts(%%), [[Code Lists>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Code list.WebHome]], [[Category>>doc:sdmx:Glossary.Category.WebHome]] Scheme)