Documenting Keywords
Keywords are words or phrases that describe the metadata resource. They facilitate search, indexing and discovery of metadata, and are the largest single component of many metadata collections, regardless of the dialect. Keywords usually come from shared vocabularies in order to encourage consistency across metadata collections. Keywords can support text searches as well as facet searches.
GCMD Vocabularies
NASA GCMD keyword vocabularies ensure that metadata is described in a consistent manner. There are seven sets of controlled keywords in the GCMD directory: (1) Earth Science, (2) Data Services, (3) Data Centers, (4) Locations, (5) Instrument/Sensors, (6) Platforms/Sources, and (7) Projects.
GCMD Keywords are organized into hierarchical groups ranging from general Category Keywords to very specific Variable Level Keywords. The GCMD keywords include the following hierarchy levels; Category > Topic > Term > Variable Level 1 > Variable Level 2 > Variable Level 3 > Detailed Variable. Earth Science Keywords, also know as 'Theme' Keywords are highly recommended by most metadata dialects.
EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD DYNAMICS > MOISTURE FLUX > DOWNWARD MOISTURE FLUX
ECHO
<ScienceKeyword>
<CategoryKeyword>EARTH SCIENCE</CategoryKeyword>
<TopicKeyword>ATMOSPHERE</TopicKeyword>
<TermKeyword>ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY</TermKeyword>
<VariableLevel1Keyword>
<Value>OXYGEN COMPOUNDS</Value>
<VariableLevel2Keyword>
<Value>OZONE</Value>
<VariableLevel3Keyword>Keyword#3</VariableLevel3Keyword>
</VariableLevel2Keyword>
</VariableLevel1Keyword>
</ScienceKeyword>
DIF
<Parameters> <Category>EARTH SCIENCE</Category> <Topic>ATMOSPHERE</Topic> <Term>ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY</Term> <Variable_Level_1>OXYGEN COMPOUNDS</Variable_Level_1> <Variable_Level_2>OZONE</Variable_Level_2> <Variable_Level_3>Keyword#3</Variable_Level_3> <Detailed_Variable>Uncontrolled Keyword</Detailed_Variable> </Parameters>
SERF
<Parameters> <Category>EARTH SCIENCE</Category> <Topic>ATMOSPHERE</Topic> <Term>ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY</Term> <Variable_Level_1>OXYGEN COMPOUNDS</Variable_Level_1> <Variable_Level_2>OZONE</Variable_Level_2> <Variable_Level_3>Keyword#3</Variable_Level_3> <Detailed_Variable>Uncontrolled Keyword</Detailed_Variable> </Parameters>
ISO
The MD_Keyword object in ISO 19115-1.
<mri:descriptiveKeywords>
<mri:MD_Keywords>
<mri:keyword/> // Keyword
<mri:type/> // Type of Keyword (Theme, Instrument, Place etc)
<mri:thesaurusName/> // Reference to the controlled vocabulary keyword source (GCMD)
<mri:keywordClass/> // User-defined categorization of groups of keywords
</mri:MD_Keywords>
</mri:descriptiveKeywords>
GCMD Vocabularies
NASA GCMD keyword vocabularies ensure that metadata is described in a consistent manner. There are seven sets of controlled keywords in the GCMD directory: (1) Earth Science, (2) Data Services, (3) Data Centers, (4) Locations, (5) Instrument/Sensors, (6) Platforms/Sources, and (7) Projects.
GCMD Keywords are organized into hierarchical groups ranging from general Category Keywords to very specific Variable Level Keywords. The GCMD keywords include the following hierarchy levels; Category > Topic > Term > Variable Level 1 > Variable Level 2 > Variable Level 3 > Detailed Variable. Earth Science Keywords, also know as 'Theme' Keywords are highly recommended by most metadata dialects.
EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD DYNAMICS > MOISTURE FLUX > DOWNWARD MOISTURE FLUX
As noted above GCMD includes 7 Keyword Set Categories. ISO 19115-1 includes 15 Keyword Type Categories. The table below provides a reference list and mapping of GCMD and ISO Keyword Types.
| ISO Keyword Types | GCMD Keyword Sets |
|---|---|
| discipline | |
| place | Locations |
| statum | |
| temporal | |
| theme | Earth Science |
| dataCentre | Data Centers |
| featureType | |
| instrument | Instrument/Sensors |
| platform | Platforms/Sources |
| process | |
| project | Projects |
| service | Data Services |
| product | |
| subTopicCategory | |
| taxon |
Crosswalks
| 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. | ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords[gmd:type/gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode='theme']/gmd:keyword/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords[mri:type/mri:MD_KeywordTypeCode='theme']/mri:keyword/gco:CharacterString 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 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 |
| Keyword Type | Methods used to group similar keywords | ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords/gmd:type/gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords/mri:type/mri:MD_KeywordTypeCode |
| 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. | ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords[gmd:type/gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode='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='theme']/mri:thesaurusName/cit:CI_Citation |
| Keyword Vocabulary Citation | Name of the formally registered thesaurus or a similar authoritative source of keywords. | ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords/gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:CI_Citation ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/srv:SV_ServiceIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords/gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:CI_Citation ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/mri:MD_DataIdentification/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords/mri:thesaurusName/cit:CI_Citation ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/srv:SV_ServiceIdentification/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords/mri:thesaurusName/cit:CI_Citation |
| Keyword Ontology Citation | Reference that binds the keyword class to a formal conceptualization of a knowledge domain for use in semantic processing. | ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/mri:MD_DataIdentification/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords/mri:keywordClass/mri:MD_KeywordClass/mri:ontology/cit:CI_Citation ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/srv:SV_ServiceIdentification/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords/mri:keywordClass/mri:MD_KeywordClass/mri:ontology/cit:CI_Citation |
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.
