Metadata workshop, 15 December 2003 Durham University

1. Metadata workshop, 15 December 2003 Durham University

2. Metadata Workshop Timetable • project overview; • metadata and geo-spatial datasets; • HFE Metadata Application Profile and guidelines; • metadata tools; • benefits of creating metadata; • a Go-Geo! Portal overview and ‘hands on’ evaluation session.

3. Aims of the Workshop • introduce geo-spatial metadata concepts and available resources with the intention of establishing a new mindset amongst data developers and users in academia; • encourage metadata creation and publication; • seek your feedback on the design and functionality of the Go-Geo! portal.

4. Project Overview • The driving impetus of this project was the recognition that a data sharing and management solution needed to be developed for the academic community to address the increasing amounts of geo-spatial datasets that academics and students were creating with the use of GI systems and database technologies and conventional means. • Portal technology and metadata were identified as the resources for delivering these capabilities to the academic community, especially with regards to using portal technology as a mechanism to publicise and deliver existing datasets to a range of users. This led to the development of …

5. The Go-Geo! Portala simple interface designed to run queries to discover geo-spatial datasets. The portal enables searching by the use of various options including free text, date, resource type and geographic location.Geo-spatial datasets refer to data...

6. Statistical Account of Scotland NUMBER XIII. PARISH OF CULLEN. (COUNTY OF BANFF, SYNOD OF ABERDEEN, PRESBYTERY OF FORDYCE.) By the Rev. Mr. ROBERT GRANT. Royalty, Extent, Climate, etc. CULLEN, as appears from old charters, was originally called Inverculan, because it stands upon the bank of the Burn of Cullen, which, at the N. end of the town, falls into the sea: but now it is known by the name of Cullen on- ly. Cullen is a royal burgh, formerly a constabulary, of which the Earl of Findlater was hereditary constable. The set, as it is called, of the council, consists of 19, in which num- ber are included the Earl of Findlater, hereditary preses, 3 bailies, a treasurer, a dean-of-guild, and 13 counsellors. The parish extends from the sea fouthward, about 2 English miles in length. • Geo-spatial dataset • “data that have some form of spatial or geo-graphic reference that enables them to be located in two- or three-dimensional space”

7. Project HistoryPhase I - Scoping Study • 10-month project phase (Aug 2000 - June 2001), JISC funded; • undertaken by EDINA and the History Data Service (now UKDA) and involved other key players e.g. JISC, MIMAS, ADS, UKDA; • feasibility study • understand requirements and demand for a portal and browser • explore options & investigate technical and organisational issues • activities included • undertaking requirements analysis • reviewing metadata standards v. needs of HFE • identifying geo-spatial resources and assessing what metadata existed

8. Phase II - Portal Demonstrator • running from July 2002 to June 2003, portal-related activities included logo name and design, hence, the Go-Geo! Portal; • portal Help pages; • the development of a demonstrator portal with simple query interfaces allowing for search by subject, date, resource type and geographic location; • and further development to demonstrate cross-searching of • a database local to the portal; • an existing, remote, structured geo-spatial data directory service to find geo-spatial data [HDS database]; • an existing resource catalogue containing geo-related resources [GE:source]; • the GIgateway and its directory services.

9. GE:source Local go-geodatabase Portal Geo-data Gateway Other IEContent Providers NGDF/GIgatewayNetwork Go-Geo! portal architecture Metadata or resource servers Geo-data Network(proposed)

10. Phase II Go-Geo Content • GI-related resources, tied together by location, which include; • software, learning resources, courses and training, etc. • information about studies and projects, articles, reports, organisations, personal contacts, mailing-lists • conferences • guidance and reference documents for understanding and creating geo-spatial metadata • a workshop was held at University of Essex in January 2003 to introduce the Go-Geo! Portal demonstrator to stakeholders as part of an effort to publicise the portal and receive suggestions for its improvement.

11. Phase II – Metadata Activities • amended and finalised the HFE Metadata Application Profile derived in large part from the NGDF Discovery Metadata Guidelines and mandatory ISO 19115 elements; • produced a 150 page guideline document for the HFE Profile and to support metadata creation; • cross-mapped between the HFE Profile, the ISO 19115 Metadata Standard, the FGDC Standard and the NGDF; • created 100 metadata records for portal content and demonstrator purposes. This included converting 25 records from Archaeology Data Service (ADS), the History Data Service (HDS), and the Manchester Information & Associated Services (MIMAS) and 75 created records from EDINA; • reviewed and selected potential sources for geo-spatial datasets; hence, contacts for metadata; also distributed questionnaires; • developed an MS Access-based tool for creating metadata records.

12. Phase III Go-Geo Portal Trial Serviceand Metadata Initiative • running from August 2003 to July 2004, Phase III project efforts will entail running portal evaluation sessions at selected metadata workshops and creating an on-site questionnaire. Both efforts are meant to encourage feedback that will lead to improvements in portal functionality and design in preparation for rolling the portal out as full service; • a sister project, the JISC-funded Metadata Initiative, will involve the promotion of geo-spatial metadata through workshops and presentations. These are to be organised and presented at up to 18 universities across the UK. The workshops, such as this one, will provide an introduction to geo-spatial metadata, the HFE Metadata Application Profile, supporting guidelines and metadata tool.

13. What is the purpose of the dataset? Where did the dataset originate? What attribute information does it contain?  What processes or algorithms were employed to create it?  What spatial reference system does the dataset use?  What is the granularity of the data?  When was the dataset created? How do I obtain the dataset?  What geographic area or extent does it cover? Whom do I contact for more information or access to the dataset?  What are the access and use restrictions and how much will it cost?  Who is responsible for creating the metadata record for the dataset? What time period does the dataset content cover? Metadata represent an ordered summary of information that describes something, in this case, a geo-spatial dataset. The details include the What, Where, When, Who and Why of the dataset, plus the means to access and use it. A metadata record may answer the following questions about a dataset:

14. Metadata reveal information that isn’t apparent when looking at geo-spatial dataset files in a directory. The information details of a dataset file are revealed in the metadata record.

15. A geo-spatial dataset file opened in a GIS software package doesn’t always reveal detailed information without further investigation. • What do these polygons represent? • which application? • what are the attributes? • where is this study area? • which projection and co-ordinate system? • what is the spatial accuracy? • when were the data captured and processed? These questions can be answered with one metadata record.

16. Think also of defining metadata in terms of food product labelling. Labels provide specific information about the ingredients in these tins. Remove the labels and decide which tin to open. One tin contains tuna-flavoured cat food and the other tuna fish. Would you select Tin ‘A’ or ‘B’?

17. Metadata Standards • Metadata Standards represent precise specifications applied to information documentation operations/procedures to enforce and ensure consistency and interoperability. • Metadata Standards are organized in a hierarchy of compound elements or entities and data elements that define the information content for metadata to document a set of data. • Metadata Standards also assigns structure and conditions to elements and entities. These include Element and Entity Definitions and Identifiers, Obligations, Data Type and Domain. Obligations refer to whether or not a value must be entered for the element; Data Type defines the value format entered, such as character string, date, numeric or a list.

18. Metadata Standard Initiatives Perhaps the most well-known metadata initiative is the Dublin Core. The Dublin Core element set defines 15 metadata elements for simple resource discovery. It also serves as an intermediary source for use between the numerous community-specific formats. 1) Title 2) Creator 3) Subject and Keywords 4) Description 5) Publisher 6) Contributor 7) Date 8) Resource Type 9)Format 10) Resource Identifier 11)Source 12) Language 13) Relation 14) Coverage 15) Rights Management

19. Geo-spatial Metadata Standard Initiatives • Federal Geographic Data Committee’s Content Standard for Digital Geo-spatial Metadata (CSDGM) contains 334 elements. This standard was produced during a mid 1990s initiative for the intended use of documenting geo-spatial datasets. The National Geo-spatial Data Framework (NGDF)/Gigateway Metadata Guidelines are based on the FGDC standard. The NGDF/Gigateway Guidelines represent an application profile created for the UK geo-spatial community and Gigateway gateway web service. • The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has recently produced an approved version of the ISO 19115 Metadata Standard for Geographic Information. This standard contains 337 elements and will replace the FGDC’s Standard. Currently, the NGDF/Gigateway Guidelines are being reviewed in order to make it compliant with the ISO 19115.

20. Application Profiles The geo-spatial metadata standards contain too many elements and many organisations turn to the development of application profiles to meet their needs. • a significant reduction in the number of entities and elements each organisation selects from the standards • this allows for selecting specific elements that are best suited for specific applications. The NGDF/GIgateway Metadata Guidelines contain 42 entities and elements and were selected to meet the needs of the UK geo-spatial community. • additional elements can also be added that aren’t part of a standard, though this reduces cross-searching capabilities across a wider network and other organisations using their own profiles and standards. • the careful selection of core element set is always critical to assure success in cross-searches.

21. The HFE Metadata Application Profile and Guidelines • derived from the NGDF Metadata Guidelines and the ISO 19115 Metadata Standard, the HFE Metadata Application Profile was created to support the needs of the UK academic community; • it contains 71 elements categorised and separated under the eight entity groups; • has 27 mandatory elements of which 12 elements are used for contact details. With the exception of one element (Description), the remaining 15 elements require only short answers or the selection of appropriate term(s) from lists; • Guidelines are embedded in the Go-Geo! Portal and contain 150 pages of support material and examples to assist portal users and metadata creators from numerous academic disciplines.

22. The HFE Metadata Application Profile Eight Groups (Entities) G1 Citation G2 Identification Information (What) G3 Data Capture Period (When) G4 Time Period Covered by Dataset (When) G5 Spatial Extent of Dataset (Where) G6 Custodian (Who) G7 Distributor (Access) G8 Metadata Creator/Record Creator

23. ……..and subgroup entities G2Identification Information G1.sg2Spatial Reference System G1.sg3Level of Spatial Detail G5Spatial Extent of Dataset G5.sg1Spatial Referencing using Geographic Co-ordinates G5.sg1-a Spatial Referencing using Co-ordinates of a Bounding Rectangle G5.sg1-b Spatial Referencing using co-ordinates of a Bounding Polygon G5.sg1Spatial Referencing using Geographic Identifiers G7Distributor G7.sg1Access and Use Constraints

24. G1 Citation 1. Title(Mandatory)(1) The name by which the dataset is known. 2. Alternative Title (Optional) Short name, other name, acronym or alternative language title. 3. Creator(Mandatory)(2) Organisation or person that developed the dataset and has primary responsibility for the intellectual content of the dataset.

25. 4. Identifier (Optional) A unique string or number used to identify the dataset. 5.Edition(Mandatory) (3) The number of the edition of the dataset.

26. G2 Identification Information (What) 6. Topic(Mandatory) (4) Main theme(s) of the dataset. 1) Farming 2) Biota 3) Boundaries 4) Climatology/Meteorology/Atmosphere 5) Economy 6) Elevation 7) Environment 8) Geo-scientific Information 9) Health 10) Imagery/Base Maps/Earth Cover 11) Intelligence/Military 12) Inland Waters 13) Location 14) Oceans 15) Planning/Cadastre16) Society 17) Structure 18) Transportation19) Utilities/Communication

27. 7. Controlled Vocabulary(Mandatory) (5) Name of the controlled vocabulary used as a source for the controlled keywords. -UNESCO Thesaurus (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) -GEMET (GEneral Multilingual Environmental Thesaurus) -HASSET (Humanities and Social Science Electronic Thesaurus) 8. Controlled Keywords(Mandatory) (6) Keywords taken from a controlled vocabulary summarising the subject of the dataset. 9. Other Keywords(Optional) Other words or phrases summarising the subject of the dataset.

28. 10. Controlled Place Name Vocabulary(Optional) Name of the controlled vocabulary used as a source for the controlled place name keywords. -Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names -Ordnance Survey 1:50000 Gazetteer -geoXwalk 11. Controlled Place Name Keywords(Optional) The geographic name of a location(s) covered by a dataset.

29. 12. Description(Mandatory) (7) A brief description of the dataset.  This should include some explanation as to why the dataset was produced and how it has been used since its creation. 13. Quality(Optional) A general assessment of the quality of a dataset for determining its fitness for use.  Quality is stated in terms of accuracy, completeness, and consistency for both the data and the dataset. 14. Language(Mandatory) (8) The language(s) used within the dataset. English – Gaelic - Welsh

30. 15. Further Information(Optional) Source of further information about the dataset. 16. Related Datasets(Optional) Information about other, related datasets of a similar theme or derived from a common source, which may be of interest to the user.

31. G2 Identification Information (What)G2.sg1 Spatial Reference System 17. Co-ordinate System(Conditional Mandatory) (9) Name or description of the spatial referencing system used within the dataset, which is based on co-ordinates e.g. British National Grid, Irish National Grid, latitude and longitude. 18. Geographic Identifiers(Conditional Mandatory) (10) Name or description of the spatial referencing system used within the dataset, which is based on geographic identifiers e.g. postcodes, postal addresses, administrative units, or countries.

32. G2 Identification Information (What)G2.sg2 Level of Spatial Detail 19. Source Scale Denominator(Optional) Denominator of the representative fraction on the source map(s) (e.g. on a 1:50000 scale map, the source scale denominator is 50000). If no source map used, enter 0. If multiple source map scales were used, enter the Source Scale Denominator of the smallest scale map (largest denominator).

33. 20. Imagery or Grid Raster Cell or Pixel Size X-Value(Optional) The column width of a raster cell expressed in distance units of measure. 21. Imagery or Grid Raster Cell or Pixel Size Y-Value(Optional) The row height of a raster cell expressed in distance units of measure. 22. Smallest Administrative Unit(Optional) The smallest representative unit associated with disaggregated statistical data.

34. G3 Data Capture Period (When) 23. Status of the Start Date for Dataset Capture(Optional) Declaration on the status of the starting date for data capture. Known - Not Known - Not Applicable 24. Start Date of Dataset Capture Process(Optional) Date on which data for dataset were first collected. 20031215

35. 25. Status of the Completion Date for Dataset Capture(Optional) Declaration on the status of the completion date for data capture. Known - Not Known - Not Applicable - Ongoing 26. Completion Date of Dataset Capture Process(Optional) Date on which data for dataset were last collected. 20031215

36. 27. Update Frequency(Optional) The frequency with which revisions and updates are made to the dataset after its initial completion. Hourly – Daily – Weekly – Fortnightly – Monthly – Quarterly Biannually – Annually – Biennially – Triennially – Quinquennially Decennially – Continuous – Irregular – Never – Not Known - Other

37. G3 Time Period Covered by Dataset (When) 28. Start Date for Time Period Covered by Dataset(Optional) The start date of the actual time period the dataset covers. 29. End Date for Time Period Covered by Dataset(Optional) The end date of the actual time period the dataset covers.

38. G5 Spatial Extent of Dataset (Where)G5.sg1 Spatial Referencing using Geographic Co-ordinates 30. System of Spatial Referencing by Co-ordinates(Mandatory) (11) Name of the spatial reference system used for the geographic co- ordinates. British National Grid – Irish Grid – Latitude and Longitude

39. G5.sg1Spatial Referencing using Geographic Co-ordinatesG5.sg1-a Spatial Referencing using Co-ordinates of a Bounding Rectangle 31. West Bounding Co-ordinate(Mandatory) (12) Westernmost co-ordinate of a bounding rectangle.(Grid Value/Longitude) 32. East Bounding Co-ordinate(Mandatory) (13) Easternmost co-ordinate of a bounding rectangle. (Grid Value/Longitude) 33. North Bounding Co-ordinate(Mandatory) (14) Northernmost co-ordinate of a bounding rectangle. (Grid Value/Latitude) 34. South Bounding Co-ordinate(Mandatory) (15) Southernmost co-ordinate of a bounding rectangle. (Grid Value/Latitude)

40. G5.sg1 Spatial Referencing using Geographic Co-ordinatesG5.sg1-b Spatial Referencing using Co-ordinates of a Bounding Polygon 35. Spatial Referencing using Co-ordinates of the Bounding Polygon(Optional) The set of x and y co-ordinates (first number = easting of a point, second number = northing of a point)  that make up the bounding polygon.

41. G5.sg2 Spatial Referencing by Geographic Identifiers 36. Nations(Optional) Geographic coverage expressed in terms of nations within the British Isles. England – Northern Ireland – Scotland – Wales – Isle of Man Channel Islands – United Kingdom – Republic of Ireland

42. 37. Administrative Areas(Optional) Geographic coverage expressed in terms of administrative areas. 38. Postcode Districts(Optional) Geographic coverage expressed in terms of postcode districts.

43. G6 Custodian (Who) 39. Name of Custodian(Mandatory) (16) The name of the organisation or person responsible for  the maintenance of the dataset. 40. Postal Street Address of Custodian(Mandatory) (17) 41. Postal City of Custodian(Mandatory) (18) 42. Postal County of Custodian(Optional) 43. Postal Code of Custodian(Mandatory) (19) 44. Postal Country of Custodian(Mandatory) (20)

44. 45. Telephone Number of Custodian(Optional) 46. Facsimile Number of Custodian(Optional) 47. Email Address of Custodian(Optional) 48. Web Address of Custodian(Optional)

45. G7 Distributor (Access) 49. Name of Distributor(Mandatory) (21) The name of the organisation or person from whom the dataset may be obtained. 50. Full Postal Street Address of Distributor(Mandatory) (22) 51. Postal Code of Distributor(Mandatory) (23) 52. Telephone Number of Distributor(Optional) 53. Facsimile Number of Distributor(Optional) 54. Email Address of Distributor(Optional) 55. Web Address of Distributor(Optional)

46. 56. Presentation Type(Optional) Form in which the dataset is available. Image – Graphic – Map – Numeric – Text - Other 57. Dataset Format(Optional) Format in which digital data can be provided (e.g. DXF, DLG, MapInfo, IDRISI, ARC/INFO, ERDAS, DBF) 58. Supply Media(Optional) Media format in which the dataset can be supplied. Paper – Magnetic – Optical – Online - Other

47. 59. Sample(Optional) A sample of the dataset and its approximate file size (Megabytes). 60. Online Linkage(Optional) The name of the World Wide Web site or other on-line source that contains the dataset.

48. G7 Distributor (Access)G7.sg1Access and Use Constraints 61. Access Constraints(Optional) Restrictions and legal prerequisites for accessing the dataset.  These include any access constraints applied to assure the protection of privacy or intellectual property, and any special restrictions or limitations on obtaining the dataset. Financial – Legal – Other – Not Known - None

49. 62. Access Details(Optional) Description of the restrictions and legal prerequisites for accessing the dataset. 63. Use Constraints(Optional) Restrictions and legal prerequisites on using the dataset after access is granted.  These include any access constraints applied to assure the protection of privacy or intellectual property, and any special restrictions or limitations on obtaining the dataset.

50. G8 Metadata Creator/Record Creator 64. Name of Metadata Creator(Mandatory) (24) The name of the organisation or person responsible for the metadata updates. 65. Full Postal Street Address of Metadata Creator(Mandatory) (25) 66. Postal Code of Metadata Creator(Mandatory) (26) 67. Telephone Number of Metadata Creator(Optional) 68. Facsimile Number of Metadata Creator(Optional)