Nullateret

Nullateret is a term used in data management to designate a specific kind of missing-value marker in datasets. In this usage, nullateret indicates that a field is intentionally left blank or not applicable, and it is treated as a distinct state from other forms of missing data such as unknown or not reported. The term is most often found in Nordic IT and analytics discussions, where practitioners discuss conventions for representing and propagating missing values in ETL processes and analytics.

Etymology: The word appears to be a composite of "null" (zero or nothing) and a Nordic suffix such as -eret or -ateret, reflecting its role as a status marker rather than a numeric value. It is not part of a formal international standard and varies by organization.

Usage: In data dictionaries, a nullateret tag signals that the value should be preserved as a deliberate null state. Analytic workflows may treat nullateret values differently from true nulls or from imputed values. Data governance policies may specify how to display, aggregate, or exclude records with nullateret markers. In ETL pipelines, mapping rules convert raw inputs to standardized representations while preserving the nullateret status for auditability.

Example: A survey item "reason for leaving" answered with nullateret means the respondent chose not to answer for policy reasons, not that the data was missing due to a transmission error.

See also: Null value, Missing data, Data governance, ETL. Notes: The term's usage is informal and not standardized internationally.