Datasets and resources

In the SSDC, data is published using containers called “datasets”. A dataset is a collection of one or more pieces of related information. For example, a dataset could contain a report and associated maps.

This dataset contains the Upper Bulkley Fish and Aquatic Review report and associated maps

A dataset contains two things:

1. Information or “metadata” about the data. For example, the title and publisher, date, what formats it is available in, what license it is released under, etc.
2. A number of “resources”, which hold the data itself. CKAN can accept data in many formats. A resource can be a CSV or Excel spreadsheet, XML file, PDF document, GIS shape file, or web link. CKAN can store the resource internally within the SSDC, or simply provide a link to the resource elsewhere on the web. A dataset can contain one or more resources. For example, different resources might contain similar data for different years, the same data in different formats, or multiple pieces of a dataset.