EUDAT receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme - DG CONNECT e-Infrastructures. Contract No. 654065
www.eudat.eu
Introduction to metadata
Version 2August 2016
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 licence
What is metadata and why do we need it?
How to produce good quality metadata?
EUDAT and metadata
Overview
WHAT IS METADATA?
Image CC-BY ‘Metadata is a love note to the future’ by Cea+ www.flickr.com/photos/ centralasian/8071729256
Commonly defined as ‘data about data’, metadata helps to make data findable and understandable
Metadata can be:Descriptive: information about the content and context of the dataStructural: information about the structure of the dataAdministrative: information about the file type, rights management and preservation processes
What is metadata?
Comprehensive metadata will:Facilitate data discoveryHelp users determine the applicability of the dataEnable interpretation and reuseAllow any limitations to be understoodClarify ownership and restrictions on reuseOffer permanence as it transcends people and timeProvide interoperability
Why use metadata?
Metadata and documentation
Think about what will be needed in order to find, evaluate, understand, and reuse the data.
Have you documented what you did and how?
Did you develop code to run analyses? If so, this should be kept and shared too.
Is it clear what each bit of your dataset means? Make sure the units are labelled and abbreviations explained.
Record all the information needed for you and others to understand the data in the future
Information entropy
The Loss of Information about Data (Metadata) Over Time, Michener et al, 1997
Create metadata at the time of data creation
Information will be forgotten and there won’t be time or effort left to capture it later.
Metadata benefits from quality control at an early stage too.
Time matters!
Image CC-BY-SA ‘egg timer – hour glass running out’ by OpenDemocracy www.flickr.com/photos/opendemocracy/523438942
GOOD QUALITY METADATAImage CC-BY ‘Quality’ by Elizabeth Hahn www.flickr.com/photos/128185330@N03/17517769750
Use of standardsControlled vocabularies for unambiguous keywords
Simple, complete and consistent informationAppropriate descriptionExplanation of limitations to support reuseAvoid special characters e.g. !@<~ etc...Provide persistent identifiers such as DOIs
What makes metadata good?
The good and the bad
Metres / seconds
2015-09-10T15:00:01+01:00
Longitudinal wind speed
PDF 1.7
2008 US Population statistics
Barcelona, Venezuela
Furlongs and fortnight
10th Sept. 2015 15:00:01
U
Population statistics
Barcelona
More precise and standardised Ambiguous
Metadata standards
Metadata standards provide a structured way to describe the data
Information is presented in a reliable and predictable format which allows for computer interpretation
Use of standards enables data interoperability
Metadata Standards Directory
Catalogue initiated by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) now maintained as a community initiative via the Research Data Alliance
www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/metadata-standards
There are a number of factors to consider:Data type – look for standards to suit your dataCommunity norms – what is accepted and common practice in your field?Organisational policies – is one recommended?Instruments being used – any automated metadata? What resources are available? – there are tools to create metadata in certain standards, more instructional materials and support
How to choose a metadata standard?
How to write quality metadata
Organise your information and reuse where possible e.g. project abstracts, lab notebooks, citationsWrite your metadata using a metadata toolReview for accuracy and completenessHave someone else read your recordRevise based on comments from your reviewerReview once more before you publish Draft
ReviewRevise
Review
Tips to follow when creating metadata
Do not use jargon
Define technical terms and acronyms:– CA, LA, GPS, GIS : what do these mean?
Clearly state data limitations– E.g. data set omissions, completeness of data– Express considerations for appropriate re-use
Use “none” or “unknown” meaningfully– None usually means that you knew about data and
nothing existed (e.g., a “0” cubic feet per second discharge value)
– Unknown means that you don’t know whether that data existed or not (e.g., a null value)
Dataset titles
Titles are critical in helping readers find your data– While individuals are searching for the most
appropriate data sets, they are most likely going to use the title as the first criteria to determine if a dataset meets their needs.
– Treat the title as the opportunity to sell your dataset.
A complete title includes: What, Where, When, Who, and Scale
An informative title includes: topic, timeliness of the data, specific information about place and geography
Which is the better title?
RiversORGreater Yellowstone Rivers from 1:126,700 U.S. Forest Service Visitor Maps (1961-1983)
Greater Yellowstone (where) Rivers (what) from 1:126,700 (scale) U.S. Forest Service (who) Visitor Maps (1961-1983) (when)
Write for machines, not just humans
Remember: a computer will read your metadata
Do not use symbols that could be misinterpreted: Examples: ! @ # % { } | / \ < > ~
Don’t use tabs, indents, or line feeds/carriage returns
When copying and pasting from other sources, use a text editor (e.g., Notepad) to eliminate hidden characters
Could someone use an automatic search to locate the data?
Can others assess the usefulness of the data?
Could a novice understand it?
Is the metadata specific enough?
Is there enough information to re-use the data?
Is the information unambiguous – are all codes, abbreviations and variables explained?
Remember to review your metadata!
EUDAT AND METADATAImage CC-BY ‘University of Michigan Library Card Catalog’ by David Fulmer www.flickr.com/photos/annarbor/4350629792
B2FIND is based on a comprehensive joint metadata catalogue of research data collections stored in EUDAT data centres and other repositories
It allows researchers or data users to find relevant data, and supports communities and data providers to increase visibility of their data
B2FIND provides a simple and user-friendly discovery service on metadata steadily harvested from a wide range of research communities
The B2FIND serviceb2find.eudat.eu
The same term can be used by different disciplinesSpecies for chemists and zoologistsAndromeda for astronomers and historians
Some domain knowledge is therefore necessary
The EUDAT B2FIND service needs to suit a wide range of different communities
The interdisciplinary problem
Metadata is harvested from different communities, usually using the OAI-PMH protocolThe metadata (in a wide variety of standards) are processed to map and transform them to the B2FIND schema
How the B2FIND service works
INPUT
Metadata in community standards e.g. DDI, Dublin Core, CMDI, ISO 19115
OUTPUT
Homogenised metadata in the B2FIND schema
Metadata records in B2FIND
http://b2find.eudat.eu/dataset/3a063891-6952-5bcf-a5ed-46f8a681c1c9
For more info: https://eudat.eu/services/b2find
User documentation: https://www.eudat.eu/services/userdoc/b2find-integration
b2find.eudat.eu
www.eudat.eu
Authors Contributors
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 licence
EUDAT receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme - DG CONNECT e-Infrastructures.Contract No. 654065
Sarah Jones, Digital Curation CentreShaun de Witt, STFC
Sara Garavelli, Trust-IT
Thank you
Content has also been repurposed from the DataONE Educational modules, ‘Metadata’ and ‘How to Write Good Quality Metadata’ Retrieved from https://www.dataone.org/education-modules
