Overview
Preparing data involves cleaning / formatting the raw data into compatible CSV files. Each CSV file is expected to have columns corresponding to the Values (numeric) about a Variable, Place and Date. The format of a CSV file is specified by a Template MCF. The ready to use artifacts contain one TMCF file (.tmcf) and a few compatible CSV files (.csv).
File Format
General Format
In the table shown below, there are separate columns for Variable (Variable), Place (Country), Date (Year) and Value (Value) and each row of the CSV corresponds to one observation of the Variable about a Place at the specified Date.
| Year | Country | Variable | Value | Extra Column [Optional] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | UK | Life_Expectancy | 81.25609756 | 1 |
| 2017 | UK | Population | 65844142 | 2 |
The TMCF for this CSV looks like:
Node: E:data->E0
typeOf: dcs:StatVarObservation
observationAbout: C:data->Country
observationDate: C:data->Year
variableMeasured: C:data->Variable
value: C:data->Value
Note: If all observations in the CSV are about the same Date, then those do not need to be specified as columns, but just as constants. This applies to Variable, Place as well. For the example above, if the CSV has data only for 2017, then the CSV and TMCF looks like:
| Country | Variable | Value | Extra Column [Optional] |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Life_Expectancy | 81.2 | 1 |
| UK | Population | 65844142 | 2 |
Node: E:data->E0
typeOf: dcs:StatVarObservation
observationAbout: C:data->Country
observationDate: 2017
variableMeasured: C:data->Variable
value: C:data->Value
Date as Column Header
It is possible to specify Date as column headers.
| Country | Variable | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Life_Expectancy | 81.2 | 81.3 |
| KR | Population | 51361911 | 51606633 |
Node: E:data->E0
typeOf: dcs:StatVarObservation
observationAbout: C:data->Country
observationDate: 2017
variableMeasured: C:data->Variable
value: C:data->2017
Node: E:data->E1
typeOf: dcs:StatVarObservation
observationAbout: C:data->Country
observationDate: 2018
variableMeasured: C:data->Variable
value: C:data->2018
Variable as Column Header
It is possible to specify Variable as column headers.
| Year | Country | Life_Expectancy | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | UK | 81.2 | 65844142 |
| 2018 | KR | 82 | 51361911 |
Node: E:data->E0
typeOf: dcs:StatVarObservation
observationAbout: C:data->Country
observationDate: C:data->Year
variableMeasured: Life_Expectancy
value: C:data->Life_Expectancy
Node: E:data->E1
typeOf: dcs:StatVarObservation
observationAbout: C:data->Country
observationDate: C:data->Year
variableMeasured: Population
value: C:data->Population
Date and Place Formats
Please check Supported Date and Place Formats
Testing Data
Before uploading the data into custom instance, make sure to run Import Checker and make sure there are no formatting or other issues.