metadata

class: center, middle, inverse, title-slide

# metadata

---

class: inverse, middle

**"data without the contextual information needed to interpret it (and ultimately reproduce the results) is useless"**

.footnote[B. Marshall [*Metadata for Research Data*](https://speakerdeck.com/bmarshall/metadata-for-research-data)]

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# context is essential

---

**metadata: the who, what, why, where, when**

- principal investigator
- funding sources
- data collector/producer
- project description
- sample and sampling procedures
- weighting
- substantive, temporal, and geographic coverage of the data collection
- data source(s)
- unit(s) of analysis/observation
- variables
- technical information on files
- data collection instruments

.footnote[B. Marshall [*Metadata for Research Data*](https://speakerdeck.com/bmarshall/metadata-for-research-data)]

???

# metadata: the who, what, why, where, when

---

**what makes good metatadata?**

- consistency with commonly used fields, e.g., YYYY-MM-DD
- use a standard vocubulary
- spell out acronyms
- provide all the critical information for: *identification; entities and attributes; data quality; data lineage; access, use, and liability constraints; accessing the data; spatial reference*
- complete title: who, what, when, where, and scale
- be specific, and quantify where possible
- use descriptive and clear writing
- fully document geographic locations
- use keywords wisely (use a thesausus when possible)
- detail, there is no such thing as too much!
- remember that a computer will read this:
  + avoid special characters
  + avoid tabs, indents, carriage returns
  + copy from a text file (not a file with rich text like Word or RTF)

.footnote[[DataONE](https://www.dataone.org/education-modules)]

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# what makes good metatadata?

---

**a special note about titles**

.center[
 <img src="assets/figures/recently_added_titles.png" width="100%">
]

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# titles

---

**metadata standards: what is a standard?**

standards provides a structure to describe data with:

- common terms to allow consistency between records
- common definitions for easier interpretation
- common language for ease of communication
- common structure to quickly locate information

in search and retrieval, standards provide:

- documentation structure in a reliable and predictable format for computer interpretation
- a uniform summary description of the dataset

.footnote[[DataONE](https://www.dataone.org/education-modules)]

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# metadata standards: definition

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**metadata standards: blueprint (for a house)**

*example for a house*

.less-left[
```
house:
  parcel_number:
  roof:
    type: shingle, shake,
          tile
    color:
  wall:
    exterior_wall:
      type: block, vinyl,
            stucco
      color:
    interior_wall:
      color:
```
]

.more-right[
```xml
<house>
 <parcel_number>45.658</parcel_number>
 <roof>
 <type>tile</type>
 <color>rustic red</color>
 </roof>
 <wall>
 <exterior_wall>
 <type>block</type>
 <color>swiss coffee</color>
 </exterior_wall>
 <interior_wall>
 <color>almond butter</color>
 </interior_wall>
 </wall>
</house>
```
]

???

# metadata standards: house example

---

**metadata standards: blueprint (for a plant feature)**

*example for ecological data*

```xml
<attribute>
 <attributeName>stem_diameter</attributeName>
 <attributeDefinition>stem diameter</attributeDefinition>
 <storageType>float</storageType>
 <measurementScale>
 <ratio>
 <unit>
 <standardUnit>centimeter</standardUnit>
 </unit>
 <numericDomain>
 <numberType>real</numberType>
 </numericDomain>
 </ratio>
 </measurementScale>
 <missingValueCode>
 <code>NA</code>
 <codeExplanation>missing value</codeExplanation>
 </missingValueCode>
</attribute>
```

???

# metadata standards: plant example

---

**metadata standards: there are a lot**

???

# metadata standards: many