Getting Started

Data and Metadata

  • Data is potential information.
  • The boundaries between data and metadata are blurred and depend on the context.
  • Scientific meta information is often recorded in handwritten (lab) notes. A better - though still limited - solution, is the documentation of scientific metadata in accompanying README files

Structured Metadata: From Markup to JSON

  • Markup languages add information to a text that is separated from the content.
  • XML and JSON are lightweight, hierarchical file formats to store and transfer data.
  • XML and JSON are human readable, software- and hardware-independent

Enabling Technologies and Standards

  • The WWW was developed in from and for the scientific community to connect researchers worldwide and enable sharing information
  • Metadata schemas serve as template and validation matrix for metadata records
  • JSON Schemas are special JSON object literals describing how other JSON must look like
  • Well-established metadata schemas have the potential to become a (community) standard

(Web) Location and Identifiers

  • URLs can unambiguously identify a Web resource.
  • DOI, ORCiD, and ROR are relevant PIDs in the scientific context.
  • PIDs can be used to persistently identify and a resource on the Web.
  • Some PIDs come with associated metadata records which are specified by Kernel Information Profiles (PID Record Schemas).
  • Identifying entities (terms) of vocabularies, schemas, and ontologies is essential for Semantic Web technologies.