Documentation Terminology
Established metadata terminology is the result of a multi-decade, cooperative effort between metadata experts in NOAA, NASA and other U.S. Federal Agencies. The selection below is intended to provide a framework of basic terminology in order to facilitate understanding of fundamental metadata concepts. More in-depth information and application examples are available in Habermann, 2014.
METADATA CONCEPTS:
A metadata concept is a way of describing contextual information – independent of dialect.
It is these concepts within the metadata that make the data discoverable, accessible, and usable. Metadata concepts can be described at a general level or include more detailed information.
Ex: “Spatial Extent” is a high level metadata concept that can be addressed in a general manner; or it can include more detailed concepts like bounding latitude/longitude box or geographic identifiers.
DIALECTS:
Documentation: A set of unstructured written, drawn, presented or recorded representations of thought(s).
- Examples include but are not limited to: Notebooks, scientific papers, web pages, user guides, word processing documents, spreadsheets, data dictionaries, PDF’s, custom binary and ASCII formats, and many others — each with associated storage and preservation strategies.
