Data Dictionary Standards

Prepared by the Stony Brook Data Governance Council, June 8, 2017

Approved Nov. 9, 2017, updated March 28, 2018

Following a guidance from the International Standards Organization (ISO) that effective use of data
requires a shared “common understanding of the meaning and descriptive characteristics of that data”
(2004), the Stony Brook University Data Governance Council (DGC) has set standards for data
dictionaries. A data dictionary is a compendium of data definitions for multiple data elements that exist in
a data store. For systems providing data, data dictionaries must be maintained to guide data users in the
meaning and proper usage of data.

Principles
1. Data dictionaries are designed to promote communication and production of meaning; as such
dictionaries document the existence, meaning, and use of data elements
2. Data dictionaries must be accessible to all users who enter and extract data from a data store
3. Data stewards must actively maintain data dictionary contents, including definitions, values, and
other metadata
4. Data caretakers and users are responsible for actively using data dictionaries to correctly enter,
select, and analyze data elements
5. Data dictionaries should be reviewed on a regular schedule to ensure currency

Required Elements
Dictionaries must include the following required elements:

Dictionary Element Description Examples

Data Store The name of the database PeopleSoft - csprod
Table name The name of the table housing the PS_STDNT_CAR_TERM
element
Data element The alphanumeric sequence used to CUM_GPA
identify the field. ACAD_CAREER
Data element name The name of the field or term in Cumulative Grade Point Average
English. No abbreviations or acronyms Academic Career
allowed.
Definition A long description of what the field Computed by the Consolidate
means, a verbal explanation of how it Academic Statistics process
is calculated, how it should be used, (SRPCCONS). Total grade points
and how it should not be used. The divided by total units. If the student
definition should not simply re-state the is active in multiple programs and
name of the data element. careers with different grading bases
(for example, 100-point scale and
4-point scale), then the program
logic reports only the student's
primary career and program GPA.
See the logic description for the
OVRD_CUM_GPA field. (from
PeopleBook 9.0)

Academic career is a concept used

in Campus Solutions to designate
all course work undertaken by a
Dictionary Element Description Examples
student at an academic institution;
you group this course work in a
single student record. For example,
a university that has an
undergraduate school, a graduate
school, and several professional
schools can define an
undergraduate career, graduate
career, and a separate career for
each professional school (for
example, law, medical or dental).
You might also make extended
education or continuing education
its own academic career, or make
separate academic careers for
every school or college at the
undergraduate level. (from
PeopleBook 9.0)
Source and Data Source system, table, and field(s) and PS_STDNT_CAR_TERM
Logic data logic, including equations, if (see definition for data logic)
applicable. List all sources if multiple
sources are used to populate
Data Type and Length Numeric, Character; length and Numeric (x.xxx)
decimal format, if appropriate Character (5)
Allowable Values / Provides a description of what data CUM_GPA
Parameters may be entered into a field. For range 0 – 4.0
numeric fields, this would be minimum
and maximum values. For character ACAD_CAREER
fields, list allowable values and labels if UGRD = Undergraduate
fewer than 10 or provide name of set- GRAD = Graduate
up or dimension table in which values DEN = Dental
and labels are stored MEDS = Medical
PHARM = Pharmacy
Semantic Rules Explain any patterns and meaning that Term is arranged by century-year-
may be encoded in the code term. 1st character is the century,
2nd & 3rd characters are year, 4th
character is a 1, 4, 6 or 8 for winter,
spring, summer, or fall terms.
Data steward Identifies the office of the steward(s) Registrar’s Office
responsible for the data. May indicate
groups of individuals if steward is unit
dependent, e.g. the Steward for an
employee address field would differ
from the Steward for a student address
field
Date created Lists the date the dictionary entry was mm/dd/yyyy
created
Date updated Lists the date the dictionary entry was mm/dd/yyyy
modified. Leave null for newly created
entries

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Recommended or optional elements
Dictionary Element Description Examples
Alias names Lists common terms substituted for GPA
the data element
Student Level, Type
Data sensitivity Lists security and access controls per High
classification University policy 302: Sensitive Moderate
Information Classification Policy Low

Usage Describes typical usage or reports

where the data element frequently
appears
Notes

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