Data Catalog Definition
Definition (or Data Definition) are Data Cookbook objects representing words or phrases that refer to an object, person, business concept, measurement, metric, etc., in use at your organization. Each definition is managed through a definition approval workflow and with impact analysis features.
Attributes of a Definition
The functional definition defines what a definition means and how the definition is used in your organization.
The functional definition might include information about how the term is used in your organization, valid data values, when it is likely to be used, how the data is acquired, how long it is maintained, or rules about presentation. Write the functional definition for a casual data user, using non-technical language.
Click Scan for Matches to identify any words or phrases in your functional definition that are existing Cookbook definitions. Accepting the match automatically links the matched definition to the definition you are editing.
The source identifies a third party organization or acknowledges an official source of a definition within the institution but external to the Data Cookbook.
Examples include an institutional policy guide or glossary, or an organization in a public or private community from which the definition was copied.
This code indicates the level of sensitivity or security of the data being described by the definition.
Please visit Data Classification Policies to learn more.
A technical definition describes where a data element resides, how to calculate a value from the raw data, or if a function or procedure is required to generate the output.
A definition can have multiple technical definitions, each one associated with a different data system.
Technical Definition Best Practices
The system where the definition resides as a data element.
Examples are Workday, Ellucian Colleague, Slate, 25Live, etc.
To identify if the technical definition has a time sensitivity in this data system. For example, a definition may be related to a specific fiscal or financial aid year or to an academic term.
Right Side Bar
Functional areas categorize objects by topic or business area and
Determine the workflow assigned to the object
Control permissions for viewing, editing, and managing the object
Provide an option for filtering on the object's Browse page
Editors can add or remove functional areas for an in-progress or approved version of an object. However, changing the functional areas may change the workflow and, for items currently in progress, may result in the approval process starting over.
Please visit Functional Areas to learn more.
Workflows control the approval process for an object.
To see a summary of the stages and steps for the definition approval workflow assigned to the definition you are viewing, click Show Workflow in the workflow header.
To view details about all the stages and steps of the assigned definition approval workflow, click on the workflow's name.
Please visit Workflows to learn more.
Synonyms are searchable words or phrases that are approved alternate names for a definition.
For example, "Freshman" is a synonym for "First Year Student". Words used as synonyms should not be definitions; when a definition is similar to another definition, they are related. See the "Related Definitions" in the sidebar.
Definition editors can add or remove synonyms to an approved or an in-progress definition.
Tags are searchable words or phrases that can be created once and shared by multiple definitions, specifications, or collections. They are used as a filter on the object's Browse page.
Example tags include:
- Bio/Demo
- FERPA
- Training item
Editors can add or remove tags for an approved or in-progress definition or specification (or collection in the Enterprise Edition).
Attachments are files added to an object to provide information not covered in the standard Cookbook fields. These files are added to a specific version of the object.
Editors can add attachments, such as a text file, a PDF, even a graphic or picture, that might help explain that object. All users who can view the object can view its attachments.
Related specifications are those specifications that use this definition.
The relationship between definitions and specifications is created when a definition is added to a specification.
Related definitions are definitions that have a similar usage or are terms that appear in this definition's functional definition.
Definition editors can add or remove related definitions to an approved or an in-progress definition.
If our organization shares definitions with one or more Cookbook communities, those communities are listed here. If this definition is shared with one or more of these communities, a check displays next to the community name. When a definition is shared, all information, except technical information, is shared.
Definition editors can share an in-progress or approved definition with one of these communities.
To learn how to create a definition, visit How to Create a Definition
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Last updated: July 29, 2025
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