Data Discovery (DataCite)

DataCite is an organization whose objective is to develop and support methods of locating, identifying and citing data and other research objects. They develop and support the standards behind persistent identifiers for data; and are the originators of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).

In the context of the terminology we use (described below), DataCite is an organization that created a set of recommendations at three levels (described in the schema description document) and an XML schema (a dialect) for implementing those recommendations. The dialect is currently being used in the DataCite search portal and in creating DOI landing pages. The dialect can be useful to communities that are trying to improve the way they share metadata; and the recommendations are useful for communities looking for expert guidance about metadata elements that are applicable to data discovery. The work we are doing explores how those recommendations can be useful for communities that are already using other dialects.

The DataCite Metadata Schema is a list of metadata elements DataCite feels are necessary to maintain accurate and consistent identification of a resource for citation and retrieval purposes. The DataCite Metadata Schema also supplies recommended use instructions. The resource that is being identified can be of any kind, but it is typically a dataset. *Note: DataCite uses the term "dataset" in its broadest sense - including both numerical data, as well as any alternate research data outputs. The recommendation has three parts (termed spirals): mandatory concepts, recommended concepts, and optional concepts.

DataCite Metadata Schema for the Publication and Citation of Research Data - Mandatory

The DataCite Metadata Schema is a list of core metadata properties chosen for the accurate and consistent identification of a resource for citation and retrieval purposes, along with recommended use instructions. The resource that is being identified can be of any kind, but it is typically a dataset. We use the term 'dataset' in its broadest sense. We mean it to include not only numerical data, but any other research data outputs.

Source: The DataCite Metadata Schema

Concept	Description	Dialect (Fit) Paths
Resource Identifier	Identifier for the resource described by the metadata	ADIwg /adiwg:project/adiwg:idinfo/adiwg:ids/adiwg:projguid DIF /dif9:DIF/dif9:Data_Set_Citation/dif9:Dataset_DOI DCAT /dct:identifier ECHO /*/echo:DataSetId ECHO (1) /*/echo:ShortName | /*/echo:LongName ECS /ecs:LocalGranuleID HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='INVENTORYMETADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='ProductSpecificMetadata']/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='identifier_file_uuid']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='identifier_file_uuid']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:identifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:identifier/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:code/gco:CharacterString THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/@ID netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=id]/@nc:value
Naming Authority	The organization responsible for the maintenance of the identifier (namespace) Note: DIF and ECHO use the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) keywords. In DCAT this is a controlled vocabulary with only one value (DOI)	HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='naming_authority']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:identifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:authority ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:identifier/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:codeSpace/gco:CharacterString THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/@authority netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=naming_authority]/@nc:value
Author / Originator	The principal author of the resource Note: In CSW this concept is called Creator	DIF /dif9:DIF/dif9:Data_Set_Citation/dif9:Dataset_Creator ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact[Role='Data Originator'] ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact[Role='Producer'] ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact[Role='Investigator'] ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact[Role='investigator'] ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact[Role='INVESTIGATOR'] ECS /ecs:Author EML concat(//eml:eml/eml:dataset/eml:creator/eml:individualName/eml:givenName/eml:text,//eml:eml/eml:dataset/eml:creator/eml:individualName/eml:surName/eml:text) FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:citation/fgdc:citeinfo/fgdc:origin HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='creator_name']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:citedResponsibleParty/gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty[normalize-space(gmd:role/gmd:CI_RoleCode)='author'] ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:citedResponsibleParty/gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty[normalize-space(gmd:role/gmd:CI_RoleCode)='originator'] ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:citedResponsibleParty/gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty[normalize-space(gmd:role/gmd:CI_RoleCode)='principalInvestigator'] ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:citedResponsibleParty/cit:CI_Responsibility[normalize-space(cit:role/cit:CI_RoleCode)='author'] ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:citedResponsibleParty/cit:CI_Responsibility[normalize-space(cit:role/cit:CI_RoleCode)='originator'] THREDDS //thredds:dataset/thredds:creator/thredds:name netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=creator_name]/@nc:value
Responsible Party Identifier	A unique identifier for a person or an organization
Responsible Party Identifier Type	The type of a unique identifier for a person or an organization
Resource Title	A short description of the resource. The title should be descriptive enough so that when a user is presented with a list of titles the general content of the data set can be determined.	ADIwg /adiwg:project/adiwg:idinfo/adiwg:citation/adiwg:citeinfo/adiwg:title DIF /dif9:DIF/dif9:Entry_Title DIF /dif9:DIF/dif9:Data_Set_Citation/dif9:Dataset_Title DCAT /dct:title Dryad dcterms:title ECHO /*/echo:ShortName>/*/echo:LongName ECS /*/ecs:ShortName > /*/ecs:LongName EML /eml:dataset/eml:title/eml:text FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:citation/fgdc:citeinfo/fgdc:title HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='title']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='LongName']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:title/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:title/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:CollectionCitation/umm:Title OGC-SOS /sos:Capabilities/ows:ServiceIdentification/ows:Title SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Entry_Title THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/@name THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/thredds:metadata/dc:title THREDDS //thredds:dataset[1]/@name netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=title]/@nc:value
Publisher	Publisher of the cited resource	DIF /dif9:DIF/dif9:Data_Set_Citation/dif9:Dataset_Publisher DIF /dif9:DIF/dif9:Reference/dif9:Publisher DCAT /dct:publisher FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:citation/fgdc:citeinfo/fgdc:pubinfo/fgdc:publish HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='publisher']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty[normalize-space(gmd:role/gmd:CI_RoleCode)='publisher']/gmd:organisationName/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 //cit:CI_Responsibility[normalize-space(cit:role/cit:CI_RoleCode)='publisher']/cit:party/cit:CI_Organisation/cit:name/gco:CharacterString THREDDS //thredds:dataset/thredds:publisher/thredds:name THREDDS //thredds:metadata/thredds:publisher/thredds:name netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=publisher_name]/@nc:value
Resource Creation/Revision Date	The date the resource was created	DIF /dif9:DIF/dif9:Data_Set_Citation/dif9:Dataset_Release_Date DCAT /dct:issued ECHO /*/echo:InsertTime ECHO /*/echo:LastUpdate ECS /*/ecs:RevisionDate FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:citation/fgdc:citeinfo/fgdc:pubdate HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='date_created']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[normalize-space(gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode)='creation']/gmd:date/gco:Date ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[normalize-space(gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode)='creation']/gmd:date/gco:DateTime ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[normalize-space(gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode)='revision']/gmd:date/gco:Date ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[normalize-space(gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode)='revision']/gmd:date/gco:DateTime ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[normalize-space(gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode)='publication']/gmd:date/gco:Date ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[normalize-space(gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode)='publication']/gmd:date/gco:DateTime ISO-1 //cit:CI_Citation/cit:date/cit:CI_Date[normalize-space(cit:dateType/cit:CI_DateTypeCode)='creation']/cit:date/gco:DateTime ISO-1 //cit:CI_Citation/cit:date/cit:CI_Date[normalize-space(cit:dateType/cit:CI_DateTypeCode)='revision']/cit:date/gco:DateTime ISO-1 //cit:CI_Citation/cit:date/cit:CI_Date[normalize-space(cit:dateType/cit:CI_DateTypeCode)='publication']/cit:date/gco:DateTime SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Service_Citation/serf:Release_Date THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:metadata/thredds:date[@type='created'] netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=date_created]/@nc:value

DataCite Metadata Schema for the Publication and Citation of Research Data - Recommended

The attributes in the spiral below are recommended by the DataCite standard.

Source: The DataCite Metadata Schema

Concept	Description	Dialect (Fit) Paths
Theme Keyword	A word or phrase that describes some aspect of a resource. Can be one of several types. Note: The general identification keywords usually have a type of "theme" and are refered to as "theme keywords". Other types and vocabularies are used for other information. Service Entry Resource Format (SERF) requires a Science and a Service GCMD Keyword. This concept is called Subject in the CSW Specification.	ADIwg /adiwg:project/adiwg:idinfo/adiwg:keywords/adiwg:theme/adiwg:themekey DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Category DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Topic DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Term DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Variable_Level_1 DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Variable_Level_2 DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Variable_Level_3 DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Detailed_Variable DCAT /dct:keyword Dryad dcterms:subject ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:CategoryKeyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:TopicKeyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:TermKeyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:VariableLevel1Keyword/echo:Value ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:VariableLevel2Keyword/echo:Value ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:VariableLevel3Keyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:DetailedVariableKeyword ECS (1) /*/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:DisciplineKeyword ECS (1) /*/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:TopicKeyword ECS (1) /*/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:TermKeyword ECS (1) /*/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:VariableKeyword EML (1) /eml:dataset/eml:keywordSet/eml:keyword/eml:text FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:keywords/fgdc:theme/fgdc:themekey HDF5.1 (1) /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='keywords']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 (1) /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='DisciplineTopicParameters']/hdf5:Group/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='ECSDisciplineKeyword']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 (1) /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='DisciplineTopicParameters']/hdf5:Group/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='ECSTermKeyword']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 (1) /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='DisciplineTopicParameters']/hdf5:Group/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='ECSTopicKeyword']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 (1) /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='DisciplineTopicParameters']/hdf5:Group/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='ECSVariableKeyword']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 (1) /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='DisciplineTopicParameters']/hdf5:Group/hdf5:Group[@Name='ECSParameter']/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='ECSParameterKeyword']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords[gmd:type/gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode=[normalize-space()="theme"]]/gmd:keyword/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords[mri:type/mri:MD_KeywordTypeCode=[normalize-space()="theme"]]/mri:keyword/gco:CharacterString UMM (1) /umm:UMM/umm:ScienceKeywords/umm:Category UMM (1) /umm:UMM/umm:ScienceKeywords/umm:Topic UMM (1) /umm:UMM/umm:ScienceKeywords/umm:Term UMM (1) /umm:UMM/umm:ScienceKeywords/umm:VariableLevel1/umm:Value UMM (1) /umm:UMM/umm:ScienceKeywords/umm:VariableLevel1/umm:VariableLevel2/umm:Value UMM (1) /umm:UMM/umm:ScienceKeywords/umm:VariableLevel1/umm:VariableLevel2/umm:VariableLevel3/umm:Value UMM (1) /umm:UMM/umm:ScienceKeywords/umm:DetailedVariable OGC-SOS (1) /sos:Capabilities/ows:ServiceIdentification/ows:Keywords[ows:Type='theme']/ows:Keyword SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Keyword THREDDS (1) //thredds:metadata/thredds:keyword THREDDS (1) //thredds:dataset/thredds:keyword netCDF (1) /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=keywords]/@nc:value
Keyword Vocabulary	If you are following a guideline or using a shared vocabulary for the words/phrases in your "keywords" attribute, put the name of that guideline here. Note: DIF, ECHO and ECS require that theme keywords come from the Global Change Master Directory list.	ADIwg /adiwg:project/adiwg:idinfo/adiwg:keywords/adiwg:theme/adiwg:themekt FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:keywords/fgdc:theme/fgdc:themekt HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='keywords_vocabulary']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords[gmd:type/gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode=[normalize-space()="theme"]]/gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:title/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords[mri:type/mri:MD_KeywordTypeCode=[normalize-space()="theme"]]/mri:thesaurusName/cit:CI_Citation OGC-SOS /sos:Capabilities/ows:ServiceIdentification/ows:Keywords/ows:Type='theme']/ows:Type/@codespace THREDDS //thredds:dataset/thredds:keyword/@vocabulary THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/thredds:geospatialCoverage/thredds:name/@thredds:vocabulary netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=keyword_vocabulary]/@nc:value
Contributor Name	Contributor to the resource	FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:citation/fgdc:citeinfo/fgdc:origin FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:datacred FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:metainfo/fgdc:metc/fgdc:cntinfo ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:citedResponsibleParty/gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty[gmd:role/gmd:CI_RoleCode = 'manyOptions"]]/gmd:CI_Individual/gmd:name/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:citedResponsibleParty/cit:CI_Responsibility[cit:role/cit:CI_RoleCode[normalize-space()="manyOptions"]]/cit:party/cit:CI_Individual/cit:name/gco:CharacterString THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:metadata/thredds:contributor THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/thredds:contributor netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=creator_name]/@nc:value netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=contributor_name]/@nc:value
Contributor Role	The role of any individuals or institutions that contributed to the creation of the data.	ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:citedResponsibleParty/gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:role/gmd:CI_RoleCode ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:citedResponsibleParty/cit:CI_Responsibility/cit:role/cit:CI_RoleCode THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/thredds:contributor/@role THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:metadata/thredds:contributor/@role netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=contributor_role]/@nc:value
Responsible Party Identifier Type URI	The type of a unique identifier for a person or an organization
Resource Creation/Revision Date	The date the resource was created	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Set_Citation/dif:Dataset_Release_Date DCAT /dct:issued ECHO /*/echo:InsertTime ECHO /*/echo:LastUpdate ECS /*/ecs:RevisionDate FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:citation/fgdc:citeinfo/fgdc:pubdate HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='date_created']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="creation"]]/gmd:date/gco:Date ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="creation"]]/gmd:date/gco:DateTime ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="revision"]]/gmd:date/gco:Date ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="revision"]]/gmd:date/gco:DateTime ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="publication"]]/gmd:date/gco:Date ISO //gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:date/gmd:CI_Date[gmd:dateType/gmd:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="publication"]]/gmd:date/gco:DateTime ISO-1 //cit:CI_Citation/cit:date/cit:CI_Date[cit:dateType/cit:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="creation"]]/cit:date/gco:DateTime ISO-1 //cit:CI_Citation/cit:date/cit:CI_Date[cit:dateType/cit:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="revision"]]/cit:date/gco:DateTime ISO-1 //cit:CI_Citation/cit:date/cit:CI_Date[cit:dateType/cit:CI_DateTypeCode=[normalize-space()="publication"]]/cit:date/gco:DateTime SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Service_Citation/serf:Release_Date THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:metadata/thredds:date[@type='created'] netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=date_created]/@nc:value
Resource Type	A resource code identifying the type of resource; e.g. dataset, a collection, an application (See MD_ScopeCode) for which the metadata describes.	FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:distinfo/fgdc:resdesc ISO /*/gmd:hierarchyLevel/gmd:MD_ScopeCode ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:metadataScope/mdb:MD_MetadataScope/mdb:resourceScope/mcc:MD_ScopeCode
Related Resource Identifier	Identifier for a resource related to the resource being described.	ECHO (1) /*/echo:ShortName ECHO (1) /*/echo:Spatial/echo:HorizontalSpatialDomain/echo:ZoneIdentifier ECHO (1) /*/echo:ProcessingLevelId ECHO (1) /*/echo:Campaigns/echo:Campaign/echo:ShortName | /*/echo:Campaigns/echo:Campaign/echo:LongName ECHO (1) /*/echo:Platforms/echo:Platform/echo:ShortName | /*/echo:Platforms/echo:Platform/echo:LongName ECHO (1) /*/echo:Platforms/echo:Platform/echo:Instruments/echo:Instrument/echo:ShortName | /echo:*/echo:Platforms/echo:Platform/echo:Instruments/echo:Instrument/echo:LongName ECHO (1) /*/echo:Platforms/echo:Platform/echo:Instruments/echo:Instrument/echo:Sensors/echo:Sensor/echo:ShortName | /*/echo:Platforms/echo:Platform/echo:Instruments/echo:Instrument/echo:Sensors/echo:Sensor/echo:LongName ECHO (1) /*/echo:AssociatedDIFs/echo:DIF/echo:EntryId ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:aggregationInfo/gmd:MD_AggregateInformation/gmd:aggregateDataSetIdentifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:extent/gmd:EX_Extent/gmd:geographicElement/gmd:EX_GeographicDescription/gmd:geographicIdentifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:processingLevel/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO (1) /*/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:DQ_DataQuality/gmd:report/gmd:DQ_AccuracyOfATimeMeasurement/gmd:measureIdentification/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO (1) /gmi:MI_Metadata/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:MI_AcquisitionInformation/gmi:operation/gmi:MI_Operation/gmi:identifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO (1) /gmi:MI_Metadata/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:MI_AcquisitionInformation/gmi:platform/*/gmi:identifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO (1) /gmi:MI_Metadata/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:MI_AcquisitionInformation/gmi:instrument/*/gmi:identifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO /gmi:MI_Metadata/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:MI_AcquisitionInformation/eos:sensor/eos:EOS_Sensor/eos:identifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:associatedResource/mri:MD_AssociatedResource/mri:name/cit:CI_Citation/cit:identifier/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:code/gco:CharacterString
Abstract	A paragraph describing the resource. Note: This concept is called "Desciption" in Catalog Services for the Web.	ADIwg /adiwg:project/adiwg:idinfo/adiwg:descript/adiwg:abstract DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Summary/dif:Abstract DCAT /dct:description Dryad dcterms:description ECHO /*/echo:Description ECS /*/ecs:CollectionDescription EML /eml:dataset/eml:abstract/eml:descendant FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:descript/fgdc:abstract HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='summary']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='CollectionDescription']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:abstract/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:abstract/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Summary OGC-SOS /sos:Capabilities/ows:ServiceIdentification/ows:Abstract SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Summary/serf:Abstract THREDDS //thredds:dataset/thredds:documentation[@type='abstract'] THREDDS //thredds:metadata/thredds:documentation[@type='abstract'] netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name='summary']/@nc:value
Spatial Extent	The spatial extent of the resource.	ECHO /*/Spatial/HorizontalSpatialDomain/Geometry FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:spdom/fgdc:bounding ISO /*/mri:MD_DataIdentification/mri:extent/gex:EX_Extent/gex:geographicElement/gex:EX_GeographicBoundingBox ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/mri:MD_DataIdentification/mri:extent/gex:EX_Extent/gex:geographicElement/gex:EX_GeographicBoundingBox

DataCite Metadata Schema for the Publication and Citation of Research Data - Optional

The attributes in the spiral below are optional by the DataCite standard.

Source: The DataCite Metadata Schema

Concept	Description	Dialect (Fit) Paths
Resource Language	The language of the resource.	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Set_Language DCAT /dct:Language ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:language/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:defaultLocale/lan:PT_Locale/lan:language/lan:LanguageCode ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:otherLocale/lan:PT_Locale/lan:language/lan:LanguageCode SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Service_Language
Resource Identifier	Identifier for the resource described by the metadata	ADIwg /adiwg:project/adiwg:idinfo/adiwg:ids/adiwg:projguid DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Set_Citation/dif:Dataset_DOI DCAT /dct:identifier ECHO /*/echo:DataSetId ECHO (1) /*/echo:ShortName | /*/echo:LongName ECS /ecs:LocalGranuleID HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='INVENTORYMETADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='ProductSpecificMetadata']/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='identifier_file_uuid']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='identifier_file_uuid']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:identifier/gmd:MD_Identifier/gmd:code/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:identifier/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:code/gco:CharacterString THREDDS /thredds:catalog/thredds:dataset/@ID netCDF /nc:netcdf/nc:attribute[@nc:name=id]/@nc:value
Transfer Size	The size of the digital resource	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Distribution/dif:Distribution_Size ECHO /echo:Granule/echo:DataGranule/echo:SizeMBDataGranule ECS /ecs:SizeMBECSDataGranule FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:distinfo/fgdc:stdorder/fgdc:digform/fgdc:digtinfo/fgdc:transize ISO /*/gmd:distributionInfo/gmd:MD_Distribution/gmd:distributionFormat/gmd:MD_Format/gmd:formatDistributor/gmd:MD_Distributor/gmd:distributorTransferOptions/gmd:MD_DigitalTransferOptions/gmd:transferSize/gco:Real ISO /*/gmd:distributionInfo/gmd:MD_Distribution/gmd:distributor/gmd:MD_Distributor/gmd:distributorTransferOptions/gmd:MD_DigitalTransferOptions/gmd:transferSize/gco:Real ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:distributionInfo/mrd:MD_Distribution/mrd:distributionFormat/mrd:MD_Format/mrd:formatDistributor/mrd:MD_Distributor/mrd:distributorTransferOptions/mrd:MD_DigitalTransferOptions/mrd:transferSize/gco:Real ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:distributionInfo/mrd:MD_Distribution/mrd:distributor/mrd:MD_Distributor/mrd:distributorTransferOptions/mrd:MD_DigitalTransferOptions/mrd:transferSize/gco:Real
Resource Format	The physical or digital manifestation of the resource	DCAT /dct:format ECHO /*/echo:DataFormat ECS /ecs:PrimaryCSDT FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:distInfo/fgdc:distributor/fgdc:distorFormat/fgdc:formatName HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='HDFVersion']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='HDFVersion']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:resourceFormat/gmd:MD_Format/gmd:name/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/mri:MD_DataIdentification/mri:resourceFormat/mrd:MD_Format/mrd:formatSpecificationCitation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:identifier/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:code SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Distribution/serf:Distribution_Format
Resource Version	Version of the cited resource	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Set_Citation/dif:Dataset_Version DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Reference/dif:Edition ECHO /*/echo:VersionId ECS /*/ecs:VersionId HDF5.1 /hdf5:HDF5-File/hdf5:RootGroup/hdf5:Group[@Name='METADATA']/hdf5:Group[@Name='COLLECTIONMETADATA']/hdf5:Attribute[@Name='VersionID']/hdf5:Data/hdf5:DataFromFile ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:edition/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/mri:MD_DataIdentification/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:edition/gco:CharacterString
Rights	Information about rights held in and over the resource	FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:accconst FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:idinfo/fgdc:useconst FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:metainfo/fgdc:metac FGDC /fgdc:metadata/fgdc:metainfo/fgdc:metuc ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:resourceConstraints/gmd:MD_LegalConstraints ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:resourceConstraints/mco:MD_LegalConstraints

xPath Note: The xPaths included in this table use several wildcards. // means any path, so //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty indicates a gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty anywhere in an XML file. /*/ indicates a single level with several possible elements. This usually indicates one of several concrete realizations of an abstract object. For example /*/gmd:identificationInfo could be gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo or gmi:MI_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo and gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords could be gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords or gmd:identificationInfo/srv:SV_ServiceIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords. Fit: The fit of the dialect path with the concept is estimated on a scale of 1 = excellent two-way fit, 2 = one-way fit or some other problem, 3 - extension required.

Data Discoverability