NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center

1. Introduction to Geospatial Metadata Writing FGDC Compliant Metadata NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center

2. Metadata 101 What is Metadata? Why is it Important?

3. What is Metadata? Metadata is information about data

4. What is Metadata? • Metadata functions • documentation • management • discovery • access • use Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How

5. What is Metadata? 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? 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?

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

7. What is Metadata? This is the metadata for this. What’s Missing?

8. What is Metadata? 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.

9. 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

10. 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?

11. Metadata as a Component of Data

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

13. 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

14. A Component of Data

15. 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

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

17. 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.

18. 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

19. The Value of Metadata (Why Metadata?)

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

21. Standardized Metadata at a Glance Establishing the FGDC Standard

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

23. Establishing the Standard The Metadata Standard The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) was organized in 1990 under the Office of Management and Budget to promote the coordinated use, sharing, and dissemination of geospatial data on a national basis. The FGDC was tasked with creating a metadata standard to meet these objectives.

24. Establishing the Standard The Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) "... each agency shall document all new geospatial data it collects or produces, either directly or indirectly, using the standard under development by the FGDC, and make that standardized documentation electronically accessible to the Clearinghouse network." Executive Order 12906, signed by President Clinton in 1994.

25. Establishing the Standard The Content Standard helps the user determine... • If a set of geospatial data is available and fit for a particular use • How to access and transfer the data set

26. Establishing the Standard The Content Standard utilizes... • Common terms • Common definition • Common language • Common structure Process step Access constraints entity currentness domain attribute Citation lineage

27. Establishing the Standard The Content Standard… • Establishes names of compound elements and data elements • Defines the information about the values that are to be provided for the data elements Citation Domain=Real attribute currentness entity lineage Type=“free text”

28. Establishing the Standard This “Content Standard” serves as a uniform summary description of the data set.

29. Establishing the Standard Metadata written using the Content Standard answers these important questions: 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? 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?

30. What does a metadata record look like?

31. A Sample Metadata Record – Text Version

32. A Sample Metadata Record – HTML Version

33. A Sample Metadata Record – XML Version

34. The FGDC Workbook Organization and Content

35. FGDC’s Metadata Workbook • Parallels the Standard • Defines 334 available metadata elements

36. Using the Workbook • A resource for applying the FGDC Content Standard • Provides section and element definitions • Describes domain values • (valid values that can be assigned to the data element) • Uses a Graphical Representation of the Production Rules

37. Using the Graphical Representation The Workbook uses graphics to illustrate the production rules of the standard. The graphics include most of the information provided by the production rules: • How elements are grouped • What is mandatory and what is not • What elements can repeat and how • many times they can repeat

38. Section Compound elements are depicted using a 2-dimensional box Compound Element Data Element Using the Graphical Representation Sections are depicted by this symbol Data elements are depicted using a 3-dimensional box with shadow

39. Section Using the Graphical Representation A section is composed of groups of data elements or other compound elements that describe that particular section. There are 7 main Sections • Identification Information • Data Quality Information • Spatial Organization Information • Spatial Reference Information • Entity and Attribute Information • Distribution Information • Metadata Reference Information And 3 supporting Sections • Citation Information • Time Period Information • Contact Information

40. Compound Element Using the Graphical Representation A compound element is group of data elements or other compound elements. The form for the definition of a compound element is: Compound element name -- definition. Type: compound An example of a definition of a compound element is: Description - characterization of the data set, including its intended use and limitations Type: compound

41. Data Element Using the Graphical Representation A data element is a logically primitive item of data. Data elements are the things that you “fill in.” The form for the definition of a data element is: Data element name -- definition. Type: (choice of “integer”, “real”, “text”, “date”, or “time”) Domain: (describes valid values that can be assigned) An example of the definition of a data element is: Abstract – a brief narrative of the data set. Type: text Domain: free text

42. Using the Graphical Representation Compound elements are composed of other compound and data elements. The composition is represented by nested boxes. Compound Element 1 Compound Element 1.1 Data Element 1.1.1 Data Element 1.1.2 Data Element 1.2

43. Data Compound Element Element Mandatory if Applicable - must be provided if the data set exhibits the defined characteristic. Optional - provided at the discretion of the data set producer. Using the Graphical Representation What’s Mandatory? What’s Not? Meaning Mandatory - must be provided.

44. Compound Element 1 Compound Element 1.1 Data Element 1.1.1 Data Element 1.1.2 Data Element 1.2 Using the Graphical Representation Using the Graphics to Make Decisions All elements are colored yellow, so all are mandatory and must be filled in.

45. Compound Element 1 Compound Element 1.1 Data Element 1.1.1 Data Element 1.1.2 Data Element 1.2 Using the Graphical Representation Compound Element 1 is mandatory if applicable. If not applicable to the data set, do not report any elements. If applicable, it is mandatory and: Compound Element 1.1 is mandatory. Data Element 1.1.1 is mandatory if applicable. If not applicable, do not report it. If applicable, it is mandatory. Data Element 1.1.2 is mandatory. Data Element 1.2 is optional.

46. Metadata 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Identification Information Spatial Reference Information Entity and Attribute Information Distribution Information Metadata Reference Information Data Quality Information Spatial Data Organization Information Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata Legend Mandatory Mandatory If Applicable