_id	Column description element	Guidance
1	Basic definition, relationships & significance	"Make your first sentence a short explanation of what the column display name means and why the column's content matters. Who uses this field, for what purpose?  Write to a member of the general public. Spell out abbreviations, acronyms and full names. Don't assume any of this is obvious, or that the user is familiar with your agency, Washington state, or the U.S. Don't assume the user can see your table or scan other columns for meaning; describe that context or relationships explicitly (e.g., ""Together with Columns X and Y, this field describes a unique vehicle""). If you use a hyperlink in any part of this description, ensure that the link leads to accessible online content; contact the Open Data Program (opendata@wa.gov), if you need help with this."
2	Unit of measurement	If the column lists something measured and calculable, is it in pounds? liters? seconds? List the unit in the description, not in column cells. This approach allows the cells to be formatted as numbers or date-time, for calculation.
3	Possible values	"List possible values (if fewer than 10), the number of values or generally describe the range of values (minimum to maximum). If your values are codes or otherwise need explanation, explain them here or add an explanatory Attachment or hyperlink in Notes. Ensure attached documents are accessible and links lead to accessible online content; if you need help with this, contact the Open Data Program (opendata@wa.gov). Always explain what an empty cell means. (The platform doesn't accommodate ""NA"" for non-text data types, so you will have empty cells where information is not available or not applicable.)"
4	Methods/standards	How was this data generated? How did the data get in -- through direct data entry into an electronic form, or did someone enter the information into a database from a paper form? Who made the observation about someone's race or gender -- the person themselves, or someone else? This information helps users evaluate reliability and supports appropriate use or interpretation. This can be an especially helpful checkpoint for names, addresses and other identifiers, so users can vet whether they're looking at the correct item. If column content should not be used as an identifier, point that out. Identify methods and standards behind the data (e.g., latitude/longitude generated by U.S. Census geocoder, date-time conforms to ISO 8601, addresses reflect Washington Master Addressing Services, race/ethnicity category standards, applicant self-reported).  If you use a hyperlink in any part of this description, ensure that the link leads to accessible online content; contact the Open Data Program (opendata@wa.gov), if you need help with this.
5	Data types	"The platform generates the data types automatically, but doublecheck that ZIP codes or other number-based identifiers are typed as text, and dates and times are typed as date & time. If your column values include numbers but are not meant for calculation (e.g., age ranges, rather than ages), type them as text. (Data.wa.gov does not include a ""Categorical"" data type).  Otherwise you may encounter unwelcome commas, among other problems."