ISO/IEC 11179 data element representation

ISO 11179-3 standard specification

ISO 11179-3 is an international standard for metadata registries that defines the technical, structural and governance requirements for describing data in a reusable way. It promotes an increased understanding of data and harmonisation of data within organisations and across organisations.

The ISO/IEC 11179-3 standard specifies attributes which are required to describe metadata items within a registry, including Data Elements.

ISO 11179-3 standard specification for Data elements

What is a Data Element?

A Data Element defines how a piece of data is recorded for a specific set of objects (or items of interest), using reusable metadata components. A Data Element is composed of a Data Element Concept, which describes the meaning of the data, and a Value Domain which describes how the data is recorded.

The ISO 11179-3 model for data elements displays the relationship between the data element components, as shown below: