The Inform Ontario Data Partner’s Style Guide

1. The Inform Ontario Data Partner’s Style Guide Presentation to IO Symposium May 2008 IO Style Guide Task Group of IO Standards Committee

2. History – InformOntario Standards and Accreditation • IO standards date back to the 1980s • During the Online Ontario years, IO had staff and an office • IO Accreditation was introduced in the 90s • AIRS adapted their standards on those developed by IO • 211 – Information Resources Working Group

3. Standard’s Committee - History cont… 2007 3 outstanding areas were identified • Naming Authority - French • Style Guide - bilingual • Data Sharing Process - guidelines regarding duplication (de-duping), coding, shared fields

4. Standard’s Committee - History cont… • IO board voted to adopt the new standards to ensure a process of regular updating after the 211Ontario project ends. • work commenced in May 2007; Naming Authority document was approved by the board in October 2007

5. InformOntario - Style Guide History • OnlineOntario project included a style guide which was an IO standard. • in the late 90s centres began to move away from Online Ontario software to web based software • CIOC field help • AIRS style guide released in March 2007 • AIRS standards require the use of a style guide, not the use of a specific style guide.

6. Benefits of the AIRS Style Guide • clear outline of quality expectations • reality of staff issues • practical suggestions to database editing issues • credibility of data

7. Principles of AIRS Style Guide • clarity • accessibility • ease of training • brevity/concision • naturalness of language • accuracy • consistency • relevance • consensus

8. The Ontario Issues • need to make 211Ontario.ca and other data sharing projects work • need to create a guide at a more granular level for the sake of data transfer • staffing realities • alignment with rest of Canada

9. Issues cont…. • Disparity between the AIRS document which is based on the US data structure which consists of Agency, Site, Program and Service site and Ontario structure

10. Decision Guidelines • What is the definition of the field and its use? • Is the field named clearly? • What content is expected to be put into this field? • Is the field mandatory, recommended or optional? • Are decisions clear? • Do they fit the AIRS standards? • Can decisions be readily accommodated by both CIOC and non-CIOC users? • Has feedback been received? • Implications for across-Canada system?

11. Ontario Issues…. consensus • InformOntario needs to strive to use the AIRS guide while making sure that there are clear standards for the Ontario data partners • The Ontario Guide is intended to build on the work done by AIRS and CIOC • An Ontario document is needed to be the authority for use for the Ontario data partners endorsed by IO, CIOC, 211 Ontario, Findhelp and other data partners e.g. CCACs

12. Ontario Issues…. consensus • Whenever possible, the document should be aligned with the AIRS guide. • The Ontario style guide will be based on the data elements used in the CIOC and Findhelp software. • Bringing data together from several different databases results in variations in style and disorganized and confusing data. • Working in French needs to be addressed for 211 Ontario.

13. 211Ontario – Style Problems identified Bringing the data together has indentified a number of issues that have been addressed in the new document • areas served (new Area Served Coding) • located in community (new Location) • double indexing • descriptions/eligibility • organization names

14. Working in French • introduction on how to work with French records • knowing when to create a French record and to set priorities • designated agencies • elements of records that are affected when working in French • elements to be aware of e.g. accents, feminization of titles, etc. • some hints for editing and proofreading process • resources

15. Working in French - Examples • all examples in the style guide are available in French • the comments box at the bottom of the page indicates specific instructions for working in French and is illustrated by the Franco-O flag • an appendix, glossary and other important tables to facilitate work in French are included (eg. keyboard short-cut for accents, street name equivalents, community names)

16. Issues identified • Things to keep in mind : • general • website • addresses • org names / alt name • punctuation / capitalization • accents !!! • many differences between French and English (spaces, capital, etc.) • feminization of titles • description • biggest issue for those who don’t speak French ; style guide can hardly help • never use automatic translator • ask the agency ; ask Findhelp • French taxonomy soon available can be used as dictionary for simple description

17. Work in Progress • list of preferred language • CIOC new enhancements will make it easier to work in French • check lists • glossary

18. The 2008 IO Style Guide Template • Name of Data Element • Explanation • Examples • Issues for

19. Hours www address Legal status (formerly service level) Public Bulletin (currently “Public Comments”) I & R Bulletin (currently “Comments”) Editors Memo currently “Internal Memo”) Geography fields Address Notes (currently site address) Intersection Location (currently “located in community Areas Served (currently “Boundaries”) Area Served Coding (currently “Areas Served”) Elements reviewed

20. Elements reviewed cont’d. • Exec and Contact • Name • Title • Organization • Phone • Fax • Email

21. Work still in progress • remaining mandatory elements • optional elements • appendices including spelling and usage guide

22. Implementation of the style guide • need for changes to CIOC & Findhelp software • ensure consistency during updates • changing field display names • funding? • time frame?

23. Style Guide Task Group 2007-2008 • John Allec, Christine Berry, Laura McDonald (IO Board) • Julia Brackenbury, Corinne Gallois, Susan Starkman. (Findhelp) • Anne Driscoll (New Brunswick) • Sean McCorkell (211 Windsor)

24. Style Guide Task Force Thank You