1. An introduction to
MEDIN Data Guidelines

2. What MEDIN data guidelines are not…
• Protocols for collection methods
• Prescriptive of how you have to collect
and store your data
• Another simple transfer format for data
MEDIN guidelines are Data
Archive Standards.

3. Do we need another standard?

4. Data guidelines
• Instill good practice amongst users
• Allow contracting organizations to specify a
format that data should be returned in that can
be readily used and includes all relevant
attributes
• Provide a consistent format for contractors to
work to (rather than a different format for each
contract)
• Allow easy ingestion of data to Data Archiving
Centres

5. Relationship to Discovery Metadata
MEDIN discovery metadata – allows the
non-informed user to discover data.
MEDIN data guidelines - all the
information that will make your data re-
useable

6. One size does not fit all
• Our data model has to encompass
everything from a sighting by a member of
the public to a complex cruise survey or a
historical time series!
• Guidelines are themed by method and split
into levels
• Where possible levels work across
methods
• These standard kits can be bolted together
in different ways if needed for complex
surveys (e.g. where collecting data using
different methods in a single survey)

7. Data Guideline Structure
6 tables
Project
Survey
Fixed Station
Sample Event
Sampling Methods (Data Production Tools)
Sample Data – the data

9. Data guidelines

10. Data guidelines
Zip file contains:
1. readme file
2. Word document of the Data Guideline Same
information
3. Excel template of the Data Guideline
Download latest version from website
Mandatory/Conditional/Optional

11. Data Guidelines

12. Exceptions
• If transferring historic data then some mandatory
fields may be omitted
• The guideline can be extended to suit specific
requirements

13. Practical
Aim – to familiarise yourselves with the structure and content
of a Data Guideline.
1)Find the Data Guidelines page on the MEDIN website.
Which data guidelines look relevant to your work? Is there an
obvious gap for your work?
2)Open the Data Guideline for discrete water sampling from
your desktop (the xls template) or select a more relevant
guideline from the website.
3)Start to fill in the data guideline as if you were on survey (or
use the data provided COBS_example_data.xls,
BODC_sample_metadata_report.html)