An Introduction to Metadata Tammy Walker Beaty Environmental

An Introduction to Metadata Tammy Walker Beaty Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, TN beatytw@ornl. gov Data Management Practices for Early Career Scientists NASA Terrestrial Ecology Science Team Meeting May 2, 2013

An Introduction to Metadata • • • What is Metadata? Why do we need Metadata? Who uses Metadata? Where does Metadata come from? When do you prepare Metadata? How do I prepare Metadata and how will it be used? NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013 2

What is Metadata? Who collected the data? Who processed the data? Who wrote the metadata? Who to contact for questions? Who to contact to order? Who owns the data? What are the data about? What project were they collected for? What is the quality? What parameters were measured? What format are the data in? What are appropriate uses? Where were the data collected? Where were the data processed? Where are the data located? When were the data collected? When were the data processed? How were the data collected? How were the data processed? How do I access the data? How much do the data cost? How was the quality addressed? NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013 Why were the data collected? 3

Why do we need Metadata? The adjectives • Metadata is the adverbs of data language of Data , n e h W , e r • Metadata Forms he W , w t o a H h d W n , Documentation a o , h y W Wh • Metadata enables Management of the ow H , d n i k data including: t ha – Discovery – Access – Use s W e , o e h on , W h h c i c h u m W w o h / y n a m NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013

Who uses Metadata? • Everyone uses metadata • We use metadata without knowing it • We use metadata to “know” data Tuna or Cat food? NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013 Coke?

Where does Metadata come from? • Here is a data file • Here is the same data file with metadata • Which one is useful? NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013 s e m o c a t a d e h Meta t g n i w o n k m o fr data

How do I prepare Metadata and how will it be used? • Ideally you prepare metadata while you are working with, collecting, and preparing data – Document your research as you conduct it – Use an xml editor (oxygen, morpho, etc) • Best Practices, http: //daac. ornl. gov/PI/Best. Practices-2010. pdf • Multiple Metadata Standards Exist (see additional slides for examples) – FGDC, ISO 19115, EML, Darwin Core, etc. : - – Choose one and go for it • Metadata is used to identify, locate, understand explain the data (Google, custom viewers, etc) NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013

What does Metadata look like? • Ideally you prepare metadata while you are working with, collecting, and preparing data – Document your research as you conduct it • Best Practices, http: //daac. ornl. gov/PI/Best. Practices 2010. pdf • Multiple Metadata Standards Exist (see additional slides for examples) – FGDC, ISO 19115, EML, Darwin Core, etc. : - – Choose one and go for it • Metadata is used to identify, locate, understand explain the data (Google, custom viewers, etc) NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013

Metadata Examples ta a d a t f Me o t e ays w One s 3 yed a l p s di NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013

Additional Slides

Multiple metadata standards exist • Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) – Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) – Emphasis on geospatial data; environmental sciences • Includes: Biological Data Profile (BDP) • Darwin Core – Emphasis on taxa - observations, specimens, and samples • Dublin Core Element Set – Emphasis on describing resources for discovery (video, images, web pages, and physical resources books, objects) • Ecological Metadata Language (EML) – Emphasis on documentation of ecological data • ISO 19115 Geographic information: Metadata – Emphasis on geospatial data and services NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013 11

Multiple metadata editors exist • • • Cat. MDEdit – ISO 19115, open source FGDC Metadata Editor for Arc. GIS 10 DCMI Tools & Software – Dublin Core o. Xygen – ISO 19115, commercial Morpho – EML Editor Many others NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013 12

Metadata is the language of data • Metadata are the descriptors of data that make it useful (the adverbs and adjetives) – Metadata enables data to speak to us so that we can understand use it. – Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why • Metadata transforms data into a data set – (Metadata + Data) = Data Set – (Data Set – Metadata) = Mystery NASA TE Best Data Management Practices, May 2, 2013 13

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