Data Models

This topic is not covered in the iSHARE Trust Framework. The data space is free to define agreements or remove this section.

DSSC Description

Data models ensure that data is accurately and consistently interpreted when exchanged within a data space. The data model consists of metadata that provides information about semantics, helping to interpret the actual exchanged data. Such models are relevant in a data space where a data provider offers data products and data consumers want to utilise and exchange these data products. When using the same data model, semantic interoperability becomes possible, and data can be exchanged among the data space participants.

Data spaces should consider shared data models, or ‘semantic standards’. These models serve as dictionaries that enable data providers and data consumers to “speak the same language” when exchanging data. Considering that participants have diverse perspectives and requirements about the meaning of data, it is essential to develop, reuse, and govern these shared data models within the data space. This is a continuous balancing act between the need for strict uniformity to keep data consistent and easy to understand, and the need to accommodate the fact that different organisations have different requirements for their data. In a data space, the governance framework should include these agreements to ensure a wide consensus regarding the data models used in the data space.

A data model is a structured representation of data elements and relationships used to facilitate semantic interoperability within and across domains. However, there are different abstraction levels for data models. This building block distinguishes between the various types of data models and the meta-standards in which they can be expressed, while also providing examples. In addition to that, this building block describes how these data models can be implemented, reused, governed, by whom, and what tools can assist in this process.

The complete description is available here.