Contents

Introduction

This wiki page presents early prototype work for a directory listing metadata schemes for managing scientific data. Policy considerations for maintaining a directory have also been gathered. See #About this Project for information on the Research Data Alliance and students engaged in this prototype effort.

Directory

Access to Biological Collection Data (ABCD)

  • Description: The Access to Biological Collections Data (ABCD) Schema is an evolving comprehensive standard for the access to and exchange of data about specimens and observations (a.k.a. primary biodiversity data). ABCD version 2.06 has been recommended by the TDWG meeting in St. Petersburg as the actual standard and has since then been ratified by TDWG members.
  • Identifier of Latest Version: 2.06 http://www.tdwg.org/standards/115/
  • Term: http://wiki.tdwg.org/twiki/bin/view/ABCD/AbcdPrimer
  • Domain/Discipline/Subject: Biodiversity
  • Maintenance Authority: Access to Biological Collections Data Task Group http://www.tdwg.org/activities/abcd/
  • Year of Creation:[2005]

Astronomy Visualization Metadata Standard (AVM)

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CGDGM)

Darwin Core (DwC)

  • Description: The Darwin Core is body of standards. It includes a glossary of terms intended to facilitate the sharing of information about biological diversity by providing reference definitions, examples, and commentaries. The Darwin Core is primarily based on taxa, their occurrence in nature as documented by observations, specimens, and samples, and related information.
  • Identifier of Latest Version: unknown, http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/
  • Terms: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/
  • Domain/Discipline/Subject: Biology, Species analysis, Organisms
  • Maintenance Authority: Darwin Core Task Group http://www.tdwg.org/activities/darwincore/
  • Year of Creation: 1998

Data Documentation Initiative (DDI)

Directory Interchange Format (DIF) Writer's Guide

  • Description: The Directory Interchange Format is used to create directory entries that describe a group of data. A DIF consists of a collection of fields which detail specific information about the data.
  • Identifier of Latest Version: unknown, http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/User/difguide/difman.html
  • Terms: http://gcmd.nasa.gov/User/difguide/WRITEADIF.pdf
  • Domain/Discipline/Subject: General Science
  • Maintenance Authority: Global Change Master Directory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Year of Creation: [1988]

Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DC)

  • Description: The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set is a vocabulary of fifteen properties for use in resource description. The name “Dublin” is due to its origin at a 1995 invitational workshop in Dublin, Ohio; “core” because its elements are broad and generic, usable for describing a wide range of resources.
  • Identifier of Latest Version: 1.1 http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/
  • Terms: http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/
  • Domain/Discipline/Subject: General purpose metadata standard for all disciplines
  • Maintenance Authority: Dublin Core Metadata http://dublincore.org/about-us/
  • Year of Creation: 1995

Ecological Metadata Language (EML)

NetCDF Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Convention

  • Description: The conventions for climate and forecast (CF) metadata are designed to promote the processing and sharing of files created with the NetCDF API.
  • Identifier of Latest Version: 1.6, http://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/
  • Terms: http://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/documents
  • Domain/Discipline/Subject: Climate and Forecast, Earth Science
  • Maintenance Authority: CF Governance
  • Year of Creation: [2003]

NISO Metadata for Images in XML

Shoreline Metadata Profile of the Content Standards for Digital Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)

Information about the Directory

DCMI Science and Metadata ~ Definitions and requirements of the headings

DCMI Science and Metadata ~ Policy for maintaining the directory

About this Project

The RDA prototype directory is being developed as part of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) (http://rd-alliance.org/) effort in collaboration with the DCMI SAM community, the DataONE DataNet, and other partners to-be-confirmed. Graduate students developing the registry are affiliated with the Metadata Research Center, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (http://ils.unc.edu/mrc/).

Directory developers

  • Amber Covington
A second year master's student in the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill.
  • Dawn Reinhardt
A second year MSLS student in the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill.
  • Yuanyuan Feng
A second year MS student in Information Science in the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Contact us

If you know some metadata schemes that are in scope but not in this directory, please contact the Metadata Research Center at: mrc (at) ils (dot) unc (dot) edu. A discussion board is under construction.

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