Descriptive metadata


In the context of data management, metadata are a
subset of core standardised and structured data
documentation that explains the origin, purpose, time
reference, geographic location, creator, access conditions
and terms of use of a data collection. Metadata are
typically used:
• for resource discovery, providing searchable information
that helps users to easily find existing data
• as a bibliographic record for citation
Metadata for online data catalogues or discovery portals
are often structured to international standards or schemes
such as Dublin Core, ISO 19115 for geographic information,
Data Documentation Initiative (DDI), Metadata Encoding
and Transmission Standard (METS) and General
International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G)).
The use of standardised records in eXtensible Mark-up
Language (XML) brings key data documentation together
into a single document, creating rich and structured
content about the data. Metadata can be viewed with web
browsers, can be used for extract and analysis engines
and can enable field-specific searching. Disparate
catalogues can be shared and interactive browsing tools
can be applied. In addition, metadata can be harvested for
data sharing through the Open Archives Initiative Protocol
for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH).