Metainformation is knowledge of objects described by statistical metadata. Statistical metadata comprise data and other documentation that describe objects in a formalised way. Statistical metadata provide information on data and about processes of producing and using data. Statistical metadata describe statistical data and - to some extent - processes and tools involved in the production and usage of statistical data.
For the ISO standard, metadata is defined as data that defines and describes other data and processes. This means that metadata are data that describe other data, and data become metadata when they are used in this way. This happens under particular circumstances and for particular purposes, as no data are always metadata. The set of circumstances and purposes (or perspective) for which some data are used as metadata is called the context. So, metadata are data about data in some context.
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