Dictionary Entities Tab

Creating an Entity

Click the Add Entity button to open the entity editing window. Optionally, you can create an Entity with Import CSV to auto-generate attributes and domains based on a dataset. See Generate Entity from CSV for more information.

Entity Information

Entity Identifier (Required, auto-generated)

Entity Identifier will be auto-generated. It can be edited, but only if absolutely necessary and ideally as soon as the Entity is created in mdEditor.

Entity Code Name (Required)

Assign a concise name to the Entity.

Entity Definition (Required)

Provide a brief definition for the Entity and the type of datasets it characterizes.

Common Name

A conversational name for the Entity.

Title (Required)

Self-populated from the main tab.

Attributes (Required)

Click the Add Attribute button to create an attribute. Add additional attributes for each variable in the relevant dataset by clicking the Add button in the upper right corner of the Attributes window.

Complete the following (required) information for each attribute:

• Provide the Attribute Name. This is usually the variable name.

• Select the Data Type. Refer to the mADIwg mdCodes Viewer for more information on each data type option.
• Add a Definition for the attribute. These should be informative enough for someone to interpret variables in the relevant datasets.

• Select Allow Null to indicate whether null values are allowed for the attribute. If the checkbox is selected, the attribute can be left empty; if the checkbox is unselected, a value for the attribute is required.

Attribute Information

Select the More button next to each attribute to open the attributes editing window. If applicable, associate domains with attributes using the Domain drop down. The other fields are optional, but are recommended if they are informative for data users. Refer to the mdJSON Data Dictionary for more information on these fields.

Generate Entity from CSV

To create an Entity, click Import CSV and drag and drop the relevant dataset in csv format. This will auto-generate a list of attributes based on the variables in your dataset.

Prepare the Entity for import:

• Edit Entity Code Name and Entity Definition as described in Entity Information.
• Uncheck the Import box next to any attributes you do not want to import. All attributes will be auto-selected for import.

• If desired, change the Name designated for each attribute. By default, the attribute name is the same as the variable name.

• Verify the Data Type for each attribute. mdEditor will attempt to detect the data types; change the selection with the drop down as needed. Refer to the mADIwg mdCodes Viewer for more information on each data type option.
• Select the Domain box to indicate an attribute has a defined domain. This will auto-generate domains and under the Domains Tab.

In general, attributes with coded terms will have a defined domain (e.g. the domain for gender might be "F","M"). Attributes with unlimited possible values will not have a defined domain (e.g. Year).

• Verify the Allow Null selection for each attribute. mdEditor will attempt to detect whether null values are allowed for an attribute. If the checkbox is selected, the attribute can be left empty; if the checkbox is unselected, a value for the attribute is required.

• Select the Max/Min checkbox if the adjacent values represent valid maximum and minimum constraints for the attribute. mdEditor will auto-detect these values for relevant attributes, though the checkbox will be unselected by default.

When you have finished, click the Do Import button to commit the new Entity, Attributes, and any Domains to the Dictionary Record.