Common terms used within the Time Series Data service
Time series
A run of data which shows how the value of a variable changes over time. Normally time-series data are updated on a regular periodic basis
Release set
A coherent collection of time series updated on a regular basis, either monthly, quarterly or annually
Table
A set of time series within a release set, usually equating to a table within a printed publication
Metadata
Information about the data
Selection
Those series which have been selected for download or view on screen
Navidata
Free software developed specifically for analysing and using time series data
CDID
Four letter series identifier unique to each particular time series (Central shared Database IDentifier)
CDID Selection
The selection of a number of CDIDs, made by the user, which has been chosen for download/viewing on screen
Cells
Within the "Series Selection and Download" page this refers to the number of possible data points available within the CDID Selection. e.g. If only monthly data has been selected for one particular time series, for the period of one year, the number of cells will be 12.
Observations
Within the " Series Selection and Download " page the number of cells that have data in them. Please note that the number of observations is restricted by the data that are actually available (e.g. if only six month’s data are available, but twelve months have been selected, the number of cells will be twelve, but the number of observations (i.e. the number of cells which are filled) will be 6).
Common acronyms and abbreviations used within time series titles
Certain familiarity with National Statistics data is assumed. If you are unsure regarding any of the full terminology linked to the acronyms or abbreviations, please search within StatBase® or refer to the applicable user manual.
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