FP7 OpenCube project presentation at New Techniques and Technologies for Statistics (NTTS) conference. The conference took plance at Brussels between 10 and 12 March 2015.

1. NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015
ICT Tools for statistical linked open data:
the OpenCube toolkit
E. Tambouris, E. Kalampokis, K. Tarabanis
University of Macedonia and ITI-CERTH, Greece
{tambouris, ekal, kat}@uom.gr

2.  Open Statistical Data are very important for the EU
 Users frequently want to blend & combine statistical data
from multiple sources
 But, these data usually resides in files and databases
(data silos) that are hard to combine
2
Problem definition
 Linked Data (LD) technology has the potential to enable combining and performing
analytics on top of disparate and previously isolated statistical data
 However, relevant tools are few, scattered and un-tested under real-life conditions
Potential of using LD in statistical data analysis unexploited
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

3. 12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015 3
The OpenCube project
 OpenCube is a 2-year project funded by the EU within FP7
 The project aims to develop and test processes and tools for managing statistical
linked open data.
 The results will:
 Facilitate data publishers to create linked data cubes from legacy formats
 Empower data users to browse, visualise, link, expand and analyse data cubes.
 Enable analysis not possible before (merging data cubes at a Web scale)

4.  We propose a lifecycle for statistical
LD
 The lifecycle is divided into two
phases: publish and reuse (or
consume)
 The lifecycle prescribes the steps that
raw data cubes* should go through in
order to create value.
 OpenCube also develops tools to
support the whole lifecycle of linked
statistical data.
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015
Linked Statistical Data Lifecycle
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* We assume statistical data is organized as data cubes, where each cell
contains a measure described based on a number of dimensions.

5.  Publishing components
 TARQL extension
 D2RQ /R2RML-QB extension
 JSON-stat
 Grafter
 Consuming components
 OpenCube Browser
 OpenCube MapView
 R Analysis Chart
 Linking components
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OpenCube Toolkit
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015
 Developed using Information
Workbench open source as
underlying linked data
management platform
 License scheme
 OpenCube components are
provided under open source
licenses
 Check http://opencube-toolkit.eu
 But, commercial solutions are also
offered by consortium members

6. 6
Publishing Components
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

7. 7
Consume: OpenCube browser
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015
Summarize observations
across a dimension
(dimension reduction)
Change the axes
of the table
Change the
language
Change the fixed
values
 It enables the
exploration of an RDF
data cube by
presenting a two-
dimensional slice of
the cube as a table.
 The slice is created by
setting a fixed values
for each dimension
that is not presented
in the table.

8.  Visualization of RDF data
cubes on a map.
 It supports:
 Markers
 Bubble
 Choropleth maps
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Consume: OpenCube MapView
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

9.  Visualisation of analysis results (charts & tables)
 Reuse of analysis results: preserving R output as linked data
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Consume: Integration with R

10. 12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015 10
Consume: Other Visualizations
Analytics and ReportingVisualization and Exploration
Stock chart

11.  Enables Performing analytics on top of combined data cubes
 Steps:
1. Select a data cube
2. Discover cubes on the Web of Linked Data having compatible structure; i.e. cubes with
dimensions, measures etc. that can expand the initial cube
3. Create expanded views of the initial cube
4. Consume the new cube(s)
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Linking Statistical Data
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

12. 12
Example: Start with an initial cube
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

13. 13
Example: Discover & Select compatible cubes
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

14. 14
Example: Browse an expanded view of the initial cube
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

15.  Open Statistical data are rapidly increasing due to Open Data policies
 Linked Data technologies can provide web-scale linking and analysis of statistical
data
 OpenCube project develops processes and tools for statistical data management
 These can be divided into:
 Tools for producing linked open statistical data
 Tools for linking (expanding) open statistical data
 Tools for consuming linked open statistical data
 Practical use of the tools is possible in the NTTS 2015 satellite workshop session
21B on Linked Statistics (today 18:00-20:00)
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Conclusions
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015

16.  For more information
 http://opencube-project.eu
 http://opencube-toolkit.eu
16
Questions?
12 March 2015 NTTS 2015, Brussels, 10-12 March 2015
 OpenCube consortium