Introduction to Geospatial Metadata – FGDC CSDGM

1. Introduction to Geospatial Metadata – FGDC CSDGM National Coastal Data Development Center A division of the National Oceanographic Data Center Please email a list of participants at each location to ncddcmetadata@noaa.gov Also Email questions for the Q&A session to ncddcmetadata@noaa.gov

2. Introduction to Metadata Content of the CSDGM Beyond the Basics Profiles and Extensions Tools for Writing FGDC Metadata Data Discovery Writing Quality Metadata Validation Course Outline

3. To learn what metadata is To learn the format of the FGDC Content Standard for Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) To identify tools and resources that can help you write CSDGM metadata To write quality descriptive metadata that can be shared with others To produce metadata that is reliable, accurate, long-standing, and provides a good data description Objectives

4. Metadata 101 What is Metadata? & Why is it Important?

5. Some Basic Terms Metadata -Documentation of geospatial data written in a consistent manner FGDC -Federal Geographic Data Committee CSDGM - Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata, referred to as “The Standard” or “The Content Standard ” Clearinghouse - A distributed catalog of metadata Geospatial -refers to a geographic location

6. What is Metadata? Metadata is “information about data”

7. What is Metadata? We often use metadata without even knowing it. Examples?

8. This is the “metadata” for this. aurora with comet What is missing?

9. This is the metadata for this. Author(s) Boullosa, Carmen. Title(s) They're cows, we're pigs / by Carmen Boullosa Place New York : Grove Press, 1997. Physical Descr viii, 180 p 22 cm. Subject(s) Pirates Caribbean Area Fiction. Format Fiction While the card-catalog entry is a form of metadata, it does not address topics such as quality, accuracy, or scale. Well-written geospatial metadata describes these and many more aspects of the data.

10. What is Metadata? a small part of This is the metadata for this. Identification_Information Citation Citation_Information Originator: NOAA Coastal Services Center Publication_Date: 19971131 Title: Hurricane Storm Surge Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Map Publication_Information Publication_Place: Charleston, SC Publisher: NOAA Coastal Services Center Larger_Work_Citation Citation_Information

11. Metadata contains vital information Imagine being given two identical cans. Your task is to choose one to eat. But here’s the catch. Neither can has a label. Which would you choose? Ravioli? Dog Food? Without a label, how would you know which one to open?

12. Metadata Functions • documentation • management • discovery • access • use Who? What? Where? When? Why?

13. Who… 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 is Metadata? Where… Where were the data collected? Where were the data processed? Where are the data located? When… When were the data collected? When were the data processed? What… What are the data about? What project were they collected under? What are the constraints on their use? What is the quality? What are appropriate uses? What parameters were measured? What format are the data in? How… How were the data collected? How were the data processed? How do I access the data? How do I order the data? How much do the data cost? How was the quality assessed? Why… Why were the data collected?

14. Metadata as a Component of Data

15. A Component of Data Properly documented data provides vital information to interested parties.

16. A Component of Data A published map contains elements of metadata… • Publisher • Publication date • Type of map • Title / Description • Spatial references • Scale and accuracy • Sources • Legend

17. A Component of Data

18. RARNUM - unique combination of species, concentration, and seasonality CONC(concentration) = Density species is found at location Season_ID =seasonality code like to the seasonal table Element - Biology group A Component of Data Metadata is that component of data which describes it. Environmental Sensitivity Index Data Metadata

19. Characteristics of the data A Component of Data Metadata describes… • CONTENT • CONDITION • QUALITY

20. A Component of Data Because metadata provides vital information about a dataset, it should never be viewed or treated as a separate entity. Metadata is a critical component of a complete data set.

21. Metadata should be updated to reflect changes in the data 1980 HEW Teheran British Honduras Cape Hatteras Light Mt. St. Helen West Germany 2005 HHS & HUD Tehran Belize Cape Hatteras Light Mt. St. Helen Germany

22. Why is metadata important? The Value of Metadata

23. Why does an organization need to be able to track its data or work? • What about the employee who is ready to retire? • Do you know what he did or how he did it? • What were his processing steps? • What about the grad student who is leaving? • Do you even know where their data is?

24. Properly documenting a data set is the key to preserving its usefulness through time.

25. For data developers, metadata helps to... • Avoid duplication • Share reliable information • Publicize efforts • Reduce workload

26. For organizations, metadata helps to... • Protect investment in data • Create an institutional memory • Counter personnel changes • Allow sharing of data with • other agencies • Save time and money • Limit potential liability

27. For data users, metadata... • Facilitates understanding • Focuses on key elements • Enables discovery — inside and outside of organizations • Find data of interest • Determine data usefulness • Determine data access This saves time and money.

28. This “data discovery” is all accomplished through the use of a clearinghouse, an on-line searchable catalog of standardized metadata records.