Data Quality Glossary
13 articles
- May 21, 2026
What Is a Data Dictionary? (And Does Your Business Need One?)
A data dictionary is a centralized reference that defines every field in your data — its name, meaning, format, and allowed values. Here's what it is, why it matters, and when your business actually needs one.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Data Normalization?
Data normalization has two meanings — one in database design and one in data quality. Here's a plain-English guide to both, and when each one matters for your work.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Data Lineage? A Plain-English Guide for Business Owners
When a number in a report looks wrong, someone will eventually ask: where did this data come from? Data lineage is the answer to that question — documented.
- May 21, 2026
What Is a Data Catalog? (And Does Your Business Actually Need One?)
A data catalog is an organized inventory of your data assets — helping teams find, understand, and trust the data they work with. Here's what it is and when you actually need one.
- May 21, 2026
What Is a Data Quality Rule?
A data quality rule is a defined condition that data must satisfy to be considered valid for its intended use. Here's what rules look like, how they work, and how to write effective ones.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Schema Validation?
Schema validation checks that a dataset has the expected structure — the right columns, the right data types, the right format — before any data processing begins.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Data Currency (In Data Quality Terms)?
In data quality, data currency refers to how recently data was collected or verified — measuring whether information reflects the current state of the real world or has become stale.
- May 21, 2026
What Is a Data Audit?
A data audit is a systematic assessment of a dataset's quality, completeness, and compliance — producing findings and recommendations that tell you what's wrong and what to do about it.
- May 21, 2026
What Is a Data Quality Framework? How to Choose the Right One for Your Business
"We need to improve our data quality" is a goal. A data quality framework is what turns that goal into a repeatable process with defined standards, measurement methods, and accountability.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Data Stewardship? And Who Should Own It at Your Company?
Data stewardship assigns clear human accountability for the quality and governance of specific data domains — turning abstract data policies into someone's actual job.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Data Currency? (In Data Quality Terms)
When someone says "I need current data," they mean data that reflects what's true right now — not three months ago, not when the record was created, but today. That's data currency.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Data Standardization?
Data standardization converts inconsistent representations of the same information into a single, consistent format — the foundation of reliable joins, deduplication, and reporting.
- May 21, 2026
What Is Master Data Management (MDM)? A Plain-English Guide
If your customer "Acme Corp" appears as "Acme Corporation" in your CRM, "ACME Corp." in your billing system, and "Acme" in your spreadsheet — you have a master data problem. Three records, one real company, zero confidence in your reports.