Metadata

Context: FIT1043_MOC · one way to characterise a data set · makes a data resource findable and usable · “data about data”

Quick Revision

• 🎯 Objective: describe a data resource so it can be found, understood, and reused ➔ structured data about data.
• ⚡ Key Constraint: it must be machine-processable (structured), not just a human note — that’s what enables discovery/interpretation.

📝 Core

• Definition ➔ structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve/use/manage an information resource — data about data.
• Descriptive ➔ content for identification/retrieval (e.g. a book’s title, author).
• Structural ➔ relationships and links (chapters in a book, elements in XML, containers in MPEG).
• Administrative ➔ management info (version number, archiving date, Digital Rights Management/DRM).
• Why ➔ facilitate discovery, judge applicability, enable interpretation/reuse, and clarify ownership/restrictions.
• Examples ➔ a book’s catalogue record; EXIF data embedded in a photo; IPTC/USGS standards.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

• 💡 Must be structured ➔ metadata is machine-readable by design; free-form notes a computer can’t parse don’t do the job.
• 💡 Three flavours, not one ➔ describing content (descriptive) ≠ documenting structure (structural) ≠ managing lifecycle (administrative).

🧠 Active Recall

Define metadata and classify: a book's author, its chapter list, and its archiving date.

Answer

• Short answer: Metadata is structured data about data that aids retrieval/use/management; author = descriptive, chapter list = structural, archiving date = administrative.
• Why: Discovery/interpretation/management ➔ each type serves a different purpose — finding, linking, or governing the resource.