Metadata and Data Documentation

Below are some things to keep in mind when documenting your research data to help others understand and potentially reuse the datasets.

• Remember to document any coding schemes or variables used in the data.
• Remember to document any conventions used for naming files in the datasets as well as how the files were organized in the research project.
• Remember to document how the data was collected or generated, including any processes, software, or equipment used.

1. Title - The name of the research project or dataset.
2. Creator - Names of individuals who created the dataset, including organizational affiliation.
3. Dates - The date range during which the data was collected, processed, and/or modified, as well as the dates to which the data pertain.
4. Methodology - The process by which the data was created or captured, including any code, software, equipment, or protocols used.
5. Subjects or Keywords - Words of phrases which describe the type or content of the data, the location in which it was collected, as well as teh discipline or domain to which it pertains.
6. Funders - The agencies or organizations which funded the research that produced the dataset.
7. Rights Statement - Information regarding conditions governing access to or use of the data, as well as who holds the intellectual property rights for the data.
8. Unique Identifiers - Any name, number, or alpha-numeric text string used to uniquely identify the project or dataset, including grant numbers or internal reference numbers.

• Guide to writing "readme" style metadata by the Cornell Research Data Management Service Group.
• Understanding Metadata by the National Information Standards Organization.
• Metadata Basics by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.
• MANTRA Research Data Management Training module on metadata, documentation, and citation.
• Research Data Management by the UK Data Service.
• Biomedical Ontologies and Controlled Vocabularies by the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library

Readings and Best Practices on Inclusive Description:

• Hope A. Olson. (1/4/2001). The Power to Name: Representation in Library Catalogs. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 26(3), 639–668. University of Chicago Press.
• Olson, Hope A. (2002). The power to name : locating the limits of subject representation in libraries. Dordrecht [The Netherlands]: Kluwer Academic.
• Drabinski, Emily. (1/4/2013). Queering the Catalog: Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction. The Library quarterly (Chicago), 83(2), 94–111. University of Chicago Press.
• Duarte, Marisa Elena, & Belarde-Lewis, Miranda. (4/7/2015). Imagining: Creating Spaces for Indigenous Ontologies. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly: Indigenous Knowledge Organization, 53(5–6), 677–702. Articles, Routledge.

Examples of Inclusive Knowledge Organization:

• X̱wi7x̱wa Library Indigenous Knowledge Organization
• National Library of New Zealand Ngā Upoko Tukutuku
• Homosaurus Vocabulary
• Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation Ontology

Glossaries of Terms:

• Human Rights Campaign Glossary of Terms
• Villanova University School of Business Glossary of Terms