Metadata

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Metadata

• Data about data

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Useful links...

• http//www.sdvc.uwyo.edu/metadata/education.html
• http//dusk2.geo.orst.edu/gis/lec06.htmlnsdi
• http//www.fgdc.gov/metadata/metadata.html
• http//www.fgdc.gov/nsdi/nsdi.html
• http//www.fgdc.gov/metadata/links/metalinks.html

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The players/the terms

• The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is a
  19 member interagency committee composed of
  representatives from the Executive Office of the
  President, Cabinet-level and independent
  agencies. They are establishing the National
  Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)

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• Metadata is simply documentation for a digital
  geospatial dataset. It is a text document that
  describes the who, what, when, where, why and how
  questions about the data, so that a potential
  data user can decide whether or not the data is
  appropriate for his/her use

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Metadata is more ....

• Which websites can you trust?
• What true story that comes in your email is
  really factual?
• Does it matter if a statement comes from the
  journal SCEINCE or from the National Enquirer?
• Trust and validity are part of metadata (as well
  as the factual information of scale, projection,
  date etc.)

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• Metadata is a key component of the geospatial
  data set. It carries critical information as to
  the dataset purpose, location, content, and
  lineage.

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• Geospatial software increasingly relies on
  metadata to ingest, display, and manage data.
• Metadata instills data accountability and limits
  data liability.
• The timely capture of metadata is fundamental to
  the quality of the data set as a whole.

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Arc Catalog automatically reads the metadata file
associated with a given data set. If Metadata is
not present, Arc Catalog creates a blank
document... Which can be filled in...
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The look of the metadata presentation can be
changed by changing the stylesheet
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So Why is creating metadata a problem?Survey
Resultsmajor obstacles to metadata production

• metadata standards are too complex and difficult
  to implement
• http//www.umesc.usgs.gov/metamaker/nbiimker.html
• metadata production requires time and other
  resources
• there are few immediate and tangible benefits and
  few incentives to produce metadata.

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http//www.fgdc.gov/metadata/education/Institution
alizeMeta_URISA2001.pdf

• TABLE 2. INDIVIDUAL BENEFITS OF METADATA
• Reduced Data Management Workload
• Metadata contain information that can be used to
  quickly locate and retrieve data resources by
  specific criteria including keywords, time
  period, contacts, data type, entities and
  attributes, etc.
• Fewer Inquiries as to Data Availability and
  Content
• Most of the information required by data
  consumers to locate, evaluate, access, and ingest
  available data resources is contained within the
  metadata. As a result, data developers/managers
  are faced with fewer and more specific data
  inquiries.
• Document Personal Contributions
• The initial metadata record produced for a given
  data set establishes the core content that will
  persist, with updates, for the life of the data
  set. This provides data developers an opportunity
  to document their efforts and contributions and
  serves as a tangible performance indicator that
  may be incorporated into organizational and
  individual evaluations.

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Besides... Its the LAW

• NSDI National Spatial Data Infrastructure
• Executive Order 12906
• Published in the April 13, 1994, edition of the
  Federal Register, Volume 59, Number 71, pp.
  17671-17674.
• Thou Shalt have Metadata

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http//www.sdvc.uwyo.edu/metadata/metapaper.htmli
mportance

• ...metadata training has been conducted in
  workshops unrelated to standard curriculum.
  Workshop material often focuses on exhaustive
  coverage of metadata content and use of software
  for creating metadata within a short,
  concentrated time period ranging from less than a
  day to a couple days. Learning about metadata
  through this approach is tedious and likely to be
  soon forgotten as not all elements of metadata
  are used all the time...

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An example...and conclusions

• Learn to create metadata along with the spatial
  data sets you create!
• Like eating spinach, its good for you
• Metadata builds character
• If you neglect metadata your hair will fall out
  and your teeth will go bad and your CDs will all
  get scratches
• Really, it is a good idea and good practice to
  record metadata even if its just a README file
  you store with the data... It can save a lot of
  work and frustration in the future.