Defining University Glossary Terms

Intended Audience and Contact Information

Contact Chief Data Officer, Office of the CIO
Intended audience Internal UBC
UDM Domain All

Purpose

This guideline provides recommendations for defining university glossary terms. Conformance to this guideline will allow users to include key required items to conform with industry standards.

Guideline

Requirements

A data definition shall:

  • be stated in singular form
  • state what the concept is, not just what it is not
  • be stated as a descriptive phrase or sentence(s)
  • contain only commonly understood abbreviations/acronyms [define, if require]
  • be expressed without embedding definitions of other data or underlying concepts
Recommendations

A data definition should:

  • state the essential meaning and unique characteristics of the concept [i.e. ‘what it is’]
  • be precise
  • be concise
  • be able to stand alone
  • be expressed without embedding rationale, functional usage, or procedural information [i.e. non-definition information]
  • avoid circular reasoning
  • use the same terminology and consistent logical structure for related definitions
  • use plain English wordings and accessible for general audience
  • exclude the term being defined
  • start with a noun or noun phrase [i.e. a broader concept higher than the subject concept]
Examples on term definition revision:
Unpolished definition Revised definition Comments
FTEs: FTEs are the workload of employees or students converted to a proportion of a full-time work-load. Full-time Equivalent: The workload of a person converted to a proportion of a full-time work-load during a given period of time.

Start in singular

Define acronym separately

Exclude the subject term
Reviewer: A senior person, such as a unit manager, can be assigned to review an outcome of a user task. Reviewer: A user who is assigned to review an outcome of a user task.

Start with noun of broader concept

Use of relative clause 'who'

Concise

Stand alone

Exclude example

Exclude procedural information
Employee: Person corresponding to the employee Identifier. Employee: A person who is employed for wages or salary. Avoid circular definition

Baccalaureate Degree: A credential which is awarded at the completion of a baccalaureate program.

Master's Degree: The credential awarded upon completion of a Master's program.

Baccalaureate Degree: A credential which is awarded at the completion of a baccalaureate program.

Master's Degree: A credential which is awarded at the completion of a Master's program.

 Maintain the same terminology and consistent logical structure for related definitions

Sample Term Definition Structure

References

ISO/IEC 11179-4 Information technology — Metadata registries (MDR) — Part 4: Formulation of data definitions
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/aboutFTB/Projects/ITSP/Part_4_Formulation_of_data_definitions.pdf

How to Define Business Terms in Plain English: A Primer
http://www.brsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/How-to-Define-Business-Terms-Primer.pdf