3.2 Dataset description

Required	Repeatable
Yes	No

Definition:

A description containing easily read and understood information about the data asset/s included with this timepoint. The purpose is to enable users not involved in the original study to find, categorise and evaluate the fitness of the data assets to their needs.

Important: The Description of the data asset/s included with this timepoint should not simply be a description of the cohort study itself.

Metadata fields:

local

Example DataCite XML

<descriptions>
<description xml:lang="en" descriptionType="Abstract"> This dataset contains primary results from Survey 8 of the 1973-78 cohort within the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), capturing data from women aged 40–45 years during the 2018 assessment timepoint. Collected via self-administered online and paper-based surveys, the asset includes Demographic, Survey, and Measurement data focusing on physical and emotional health, and mid-life transitions. The sample is derived from a longitudinal, population-based cohort originally sampled from the Medicare database to be broadly representative of the Australian population. The files are provided in SAS, STATA, and SPSS formats.</description> </descriptions>

DataCite 17 Description

Occurrences: 1

Input type: Text

Example input:

This dataset contains primary results from Survey 8 of the 1973-78 cohort within the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), capturing data from women aged 40–45 years during the 2018 assessment timepoint. Collected via self-administered online and paper-based surveys, the asset includes Demographic, Survey, and Measurement data focusing on physical and emotional health, and mid-life transitions. The sample is derived from a longitudinal, population-based cohort originally sampled from the Medicare database to be broadly representative of the Australian population. The files are provided in SAS, STATA, and SPSS formats.

Controlled vocabulary source: Nil

Notes:

The description should include:

The assessment stage/ timepoint(s), eg.
“Baseline data only”
"Follow-up 1"

Basic descriptives of this sample in this timepoint, or sample frame, including:
The sample size (i.e. in the dataset, especially if this is different from the total number of study participants)
Age range
Biological sex characteristics
The intervention or exposure

Which data types are included (such as Survey Data, Demographic Data, Measurement Data, Administrative Data).

Data collection methodology (such as surveys)

The file format/s (eg. CSV, XLS, PDF, XML, DICOM)

for the data asset/s available for request.

Additional guidance:
It may include description of the data lineage and provenance, i.e. the cohort study(s) that produced the dataset, and relevant data attributes.

Please ensure that this is the description of the data assets available for request for this timepoint and not the study. For clarity, please refer to the following comparison:

Timepoint data asset description ✓

Study description ✗

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (known as Women’s Health Australia to its participants) is the largest, longest-running project of its kind ever conducted in Australia. The population-based survey explores the factors contributing to the health and wellbeing of over 57,000 Australian women* in four cohorts. Their data provides invaluable information about the health of women across the lifespan. Since its inception in 1996, ALSWH has informed federal and state government policies across a wide range of issues. The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing funds the Study, and it is jointly managed by the University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle.

DataCite 17.a descriptionType

Occurrences: 1

Input type: Text

Example input:

Must be “Abstract”

Controlled vocabulary source:

Abstract
Methods
TableOfContents
TechnicalInfo
Other

Notes: