7 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

3. Definition of Metadata
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www.terralink.co.nz/profile/glossary/
Metadata is data about data. Used in the context of digital spatial data, metadata is the
background information, which describes the content, quality condition, and other
appropriate characteristics of the data.
3.1 Definitions of Metadata
www.nyskwic.org/u_data_terms.cfm
“Metadata provides information about the content, quality, condition, and other
characteristics of data.”
www.savi.org/savil/documentation/glossary.aspx
(2.2) “Metadata is the term used to described data about data. It describes who collects the
data, what the data contains, where (and low) the data is stored, when (and how often) the
data is collected, and why.”
We can say that information about a data set which is provided by the data supplier or the
generating algorithm and which provides a description of the content, format and utility of
the data set.
4. Types of Metadata
Metadata generally contains a pointer to the location of the object. Just like in a
classification scheme such a Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) indicates of represents
a place on a library shelf, a URL represents the location of a digital object. With digital
objects, the metadata can be embedded and then automatically extracted, though the level
of extraction depends upon the quality of the metadata. There are three kinds of metadata
associated with digital objects:
• Descriptive metadata or content metadata
• Structural metadata
• Administrative metadata
4.1 Descriptive Metadata
Descriptive metadata describes the attributes of digital object such as ‘title’, ‘creative’,
‘subject’, ‘date’, ‘keywords’, ‘abstract’ etc. The description of non-textual data in text is
problematic, as it is difficult to know all the possible intended uses for metadata and
skilled creators are needed for this. Descriptive metadata can be applied at a fine level of
granularity, with descriptions of even one image running into hundreds of words.
Application of metadata to digital objects needs to be rigorously controlled with use of
thesauri, name authority files, standard subject headings like Library of Congress Subject
Heading (LCSH).
4.2 Structured Metadata
Structural metadata attempts to describe the structure and relationships of a set of digital
objects. Structural metadata facilitate navigation and resource discovery, as the structure
of a digital object is an important indicator of that object’s meaning. In absence of good
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