OpenCube and the OpenDataCommunities

Data Cube Vocabulary Workshop26th May 2015, Luxembourg

Open Data CommunitiesEvangelos Kalampokis & Bill Roberts

Eurostat Workshop 2

This work is funded by the European Commission within the 7th FP in the context of the project OpenCube under grand agreement No. 611667.

Project Coordinators: Prof. Konstantinos Tarabanis, CERTH, e-

mail: [email protected] Ass. Prof. Efthimios Tambouris, CERTH, e-

mail: [email protected] Project Officer

Carola Carstens Duration:

November 2013 - October 2015 26th May 2015

The OpenCube project

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Partners

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Linked Data has the potential to enable combining and performing analytics on top of disparate and previously isolated statistical data

The RDF Data Cube Vocabulary has been proposed for modelling multi-dimensional data as RDF graphs.

However, tools for handling linked data cubes:

are only few and scattered

have not been tested under real-life conditions

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Linked Data

Potential of using LOD in statistical data analysis unexploited

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Facilitate publishers to create linked data cubes from legacy formats Empower users to browse, visualise, link, expand and analyse data

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OpenCube benefits to stakeholders

Enable analysis not possible before (merging data cubes across the Web) Lower entry barrier to SMEs to exploit this new technology

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OpenCube approach & results

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Prototypes and Developed Components

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Prototypes and Developed Components

Standalone Components

TARQL data cube extension

D2RQ data cube extension

Grafter data transformation pipeline

Statistics in Open Data Communities

Open Data Communities holds around 100 statistical datasets, all in the form of RDF Data Cube.

Each dataset has machine readable metadata, using the DCAT and VoID vocabularies.

▪Most datasets have dimension of refArea, refPeriod and one or more other dimensions

▪Geography is defined using the UK Office for National Statistics standard codes for areas

▪Time periods are defined using the UK government 'reference.data.gov.uk' time interval

▪Other code lists are expressed as SKOS Concept Schemes and are generally defined by DCLG themselves

▪Opportunities▪The ability to share concept schemes between organisations, to agree on

standard definitions

9 December 2014 OpenCube First Review

Use of RDF Data Cube

▪Data analysts and researchers From local government From universities From third sector From businesses From DCLG itself

Local government and other organisations that want to re-use statistics to compile and display 'area profiles'

Developers incorporating data into visualisations

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User groups

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Data access methods

▪OpenCube project has led to development of new data access components, used in Open Data Communities:

Grid view of any data cube dataset

Map view of any data cube dataset

'Spreadsheet builder', combining data from multiple cubes

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Components developed in OpenCube

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Data cube grid view

Tools to select the two dimensions to show – and to fix the values of any dimension not shown.

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Data cube grid view – selecting dimensions

And importantly, the user's selection of data can be downloaded in CSV, for easy use in other software packages

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Data cube grid view – data download

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Data cube map view

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Spreadsheet builder

▪DCLG have selected the linked data('5 star open data') as a good way to manage and distribute their open data

▪Much of the data is statistical and the RDF Data Cube is a well-established W3C open standard

▪The combination of linked data and the standardised data cube structure allows many opportunities for automation

▪While most users don't want to consume linked data directly, it provides a platform for building many other kinds of data access

9 December 2014 OpenCube First Review

Conclusions

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