Skip to main content

Back to C15061

Understanding the data items pages 

For those less familiar with XML it can be difficult to know where to start when faced with the data items document. The table below uses the a fictional field (Appearance.EYECOL) as an example and gives a commentary on what the information contained within the data items pages conveys and how it should be used.

Eye Colour

    Explanation of terms/use
Short name EYECOL Each data item will have both a short and a long name to identify it. 
Type field This explains whether the item is a field or an entity.     
Description This field records the colour of the student's eyes  
Applicable to England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales These two items provide information about which providers are required to complete this field and for which courses.  In this example, the field is required to be completed by all providers and for any type 1 or 2 records that do not recruit through UCAS and for which the fees have been confirmed.
Coverage All records where
Base data type EYECOLCodeType  
Field length 2 The field length details the maximum number of characters that can be returned in the field.
Part of Appearance Shows the entity to which the field belongs
Minimum occurrences 0 The minimum and maximum occurrences can be used in conjunction with the coverage statement to identify whether a field is required and how many times it can appear within each occurrence of the entity. A minimum occurrence of 1 means that the field must be completed by all providers for which the field is applicable.
Maximum occurrences 1
Year this field relates to 2015/16 This section only appears for the KIS record.The KIS record contains data relating to a number of years and from a range of data sources. The year that each data item relates to is displayed here to assist providers in completing the return.
Reason required To assist analysis. This provides context about why the data is required.
Notes This field records the eye colour of the student and not the colour of their contact lenses (if worn).  The notes section provides all of the guidance relevant to the field and should be reviewed when completing the return.
Owner HESA Each field has an 'owner'. This can relate to who requires or specifies the data item.     
Version 1.0 Amendments to the data item in subsequent releases of the coding manual will be listed here where applicable. The page will display the version number of the document, the date it was last modified and change management notes to identify the change.
Business rules
1 (Error) Appearance.EYECOL must exist where Appearance.EYES = 1 (Yes)
 
The business rules section shows any first stage validation rules that apply to this field and reinforce the coverage statement and guidance.
Schema components Element: EYECOL
Data type: EYECOLCodeContentType
 
Valid entries and labels Download the valid entries in csv format
01 Blue
02 Brown
03 Green
04 Hazel
05 Not known
06 Information refused
Many fields will contain a list of valid entries that show the codes that are available for use. Where the valid entries exist, only codes shown within the list will pass validation.

Some records contain text fields for which no valid entries exist. For such fields care needs to be taken to ensure that only accepted characters are used (as detailed in the notes section and data type).

Need help?

Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.