Case data is the data recorded for each case. In a market research survey, the case data stores respondents’ answers. For example, suppose you are conducting a survey about drinks. In the questionnaire, the respondents are asked their age, gender, and occupation, and are also asked about their drinking habits and preferences. The case data from this survey is the responses that are given by each person to the questions in the questionnaire. Now, suppose the survey is conducted in another country, on a different sample group, or using a different version of the questionnaire. The case data is similar in each of these scenarios, and it should be a straightforward matter to analyze the data, taking into account the minor variations between each data set.

The information that describes case data, such as the questionnaire used to gather a particular record, can be stored separately from the case data as metadata with the case data holding only a reference to the version of the metadata associated with each case (or record). When you come to analyze the data, the UNICOM Intelligence Data Model selects and presents the appropriate case data and metadata.

The Case Data Model can store and access case data in any format for which a suitable CDSC is available. The CDSC interprets the stored data and presents it to the Provider in a format that it can work with.