Guidance

Using metadata to describe tabular data for publishing

Updated 28 September 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recommended-open-standards-for-government/using-metadata-to-describe-tabular-data-for-publishing

Use the schema.org Dataset schema to describe the contents of a comma-separated values (CSV) file, spreadsheet or other file type containing data you publish.

1. Summary of the standard’s use for government

Government websites already use schema.org Dataset to publish data on GOV.UK and data.gov.uk. The schema allows you to add metadata so search engines can find the data you’ve published and display structured results for users. You should use this standard in combination with our guidance on persistent resolvable identifiers so that users can find the most recent version of your data.

The government chooses standards using the open standards approval process and the Open Standards Board has final approval. Read more about the process of choosing all the schema standards for tabular data.

2. How this standard meets user needs

You should use the schema.org Dataset schema if you’re a government worker who publishes data.

If you describe published data in a consistent way, users can easily catalogue, validate and reuse your data.

Using this standard means you can publish data:

  • on GOV.UK or other public sector websites in a way that makes it easier for search engines and third-party websites to use it
  • that’s searchable by item type, for example, event or location
  • with additional information such as the topic of the data, who published it and date published

3. How to use this standard

If you’re publishing your data on GOV.UK, your content team will usually add metadata through the publishing tool. You can read more about which schema.org data GOV.UK includes for each type of page.

If you’re publishing on another public sector website you should include the following properties to describe your data:

You can also use other schema.org properties if you need to provide extra information. You can read more about the properties in ‘Record information about data sets you share with others’.

When sharing data privately, you should use the Dublin Core standard in combination with schema.org to describe your data.

You should also use the CSV on the Web (CSVW) standard to describe the contents and structure of comma-separated values (CSV) data files.

If you’re publishing your data in a CSV file, you should use the RFC 4180 standard recommended by the Open Standards Board.

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