Reference metadata reporting standards

Reference metadata reporting standards

This section covers the two main standards used within the European Statistical System (ESS) to describe the data sets disseminated on Eurostat's website, both in terms of content and quality. This specific type of information is called reference metadata.

• ESMS (Euro SDMX Metadata Structure) files are standardised, user-oriented files used for describing the statistical data sets published by Eurostat on its website. The purpose of the ESMS files is to document the methodologies, the quality aspects, and the statistical production processes in general. The ESMS standard is also increasingly used for reporting of national reference metadata files to Eurostat.
• ESQRS (ESS Standard Quality Report Structure) is a standard for the production and dissemination of quality reports within the ESS. ESQRS files provide users with detailed information for assessing the quality of the data sets released by Eurostat.

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