A data standard is a type of standard, which is an agreed upon approach to allow for consistent measurement, qualification or exchange of an object, process, or unit of information. For example, the metric system of measurement is a standard. 

Data standards refer to methods of organizing, documenting, and formatting data in order to aid in data aggregation, sharing and reuse. There are many data standards, and data standards can be generated by a research community (e.g., Observational Health Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI), a governmental organization (e.g., International Organization for Standardization (ISO)), or other large organizations. Metadata standards (e.g., DublinCore) are also data standards as they standardize how metadata is formatted in order to ease the sharing of metadata across platforms.