What is metadata and what should I do with it?
Put simply, metadata is information about a data set or a service. For example, a metadata record typically contains information about the title of a data set, the geographic scope, when it was last updated and the contact details of the person who owns it. Put another way, metadata provides information about, or documentation of, other data managed within an application or environment. Metadata can therefore also describe a service such as a software package or a model output. There are different levels of metadata but the one most commonly collected is ‘discovery’ metadata that allows users to easily discover what data sets may exist to meet their needs, for example, through a portal. This leads to an increased reuse of data.
To allow organisations to exchange discovery metadata easily there are a number of standards that are used. MEDIN has derived one that is compliant with other international standards. If you wish to generate a single metadata record we suggest you use the tool or if you are more technically aware then the guidance document describing the standard is available. Often it is difficult to decide if the data that has been collected constitutes one ‘data set’. MEDIN has provided some practical guidence to help you.
When discovery metadata has been generated in the MEDIN format it must be made available to be searched via the MEDIN portal. There are a number of ways in which this may be done depending on who is undertaking the data collection, who commissioned the work and where the data will be archived. A number of case study examples have been generated to help you or, alternatively, e-mail enquiries@oceannet.org if you need further advice.