Frequently asked questions about implementing metadata collection
Why should we bother to maintain metadata?
The creation of standard metadata is a seemingly daunting task that may not seem worthwhile. After all, you know what's in the layers that you have created. However, some more questions might make the answer to this question more apparent.
The answers to all of these questions can be found in the metadata. Adequate CSDGM metadata provides a data layer with a full title and description and identifies the steward of that data, it makes readily apparent the content, quality, sources and collection methods, a data dictionary and other information required for using and archiving data.
How much will keeping FGDC metadata cost me?
The cost of creating and maintaining FGDC compliant metadata can vary according to the investment that your organization would like to make in managing your data resources and making those resources available for use. One thing that is important to remember is the savings that can be realized by protecting the investment in your data over time by having a permanent record of the structure of the databases, procedures used in data collection or creation and all of the other information retained incomplete data documentation.
The largest cost is the initial implementation. Most organizations have a good deal of undocumented data in their organization. Although there are software tools available at no cost, learning the content standard and implementing the tools and documenting existing data can be time consuming and costly. To ease this PASDA is available to assist you in creating and maintaining documentation.
The Data Interview on the PASDA site uses a more intuitive question and answer form to gather necessary information to create FGDC metadata. This information is augmented, formatted and validated by the PASDA Metadata Team allowing you to create fully compliant metadata without needing to gain an in-depth understanding of the standard. As an added benefit this metadata will be shared through the PASDA database to communicate your data efforts and availability to other GIS users.
The metadata standard is really long, Do I have to learn the whole thing to create metadata?
Again the answer to this varies. To create uniform in-house metadata an understanding enough to provide consistent information to simplify later use and to make the metadata accessible to any search mechanisms either within your local organization, region or larger area.
What data sets should be documented and which ones should not?
Certainly any data that you have that will be maintained or archived for a long period of time. Any data that often need to be transferred or shared with other organizations should be documented as well. This includes data provided to engineers for studies, reported to regional or other larger organizations, or for cross-jurisdictional use. Metadata can be created at the project planning stage or while the data collection is in-progress. For current and future data efforts a description done in this way will provide immediacy to the documentation ensuring accurate and thorough documentation with the least difficulty. The memory of your organization about its data will be maximized and the effects of staff turnover and other changes will be minimized by having a complete history of the data.
How often should metadata be updated?
Metadata should be updated when the data has changed to make the documentation obsolete. This includes additional attributes or tables in your database, completion of quality reviews, changes in contact information, or additional processes or transformations of the data. Some data sets will remain static and require no update. Other data, such time series sampling data, may be more volatile and require more frequent update.
How often should it be reviewed?
At PASDA we try to review and/or update metadata every 6-12 months to make sure that the information contained in the metadata is still accurate and the contact information is current. We will often contact the data creator to inquire about updates or changes to the data. A periodic review of your organizations could be warranted for the same purposes.
If you are using PASDA to create and distribute your metadata. The first thing to do is inventory your data sets. Make a list of the data layers that are on the disks in your office or on your network. From this list you can prioritize the order in which you document this data. You can also determine who is best suited to create the documentation for each layer. This should be the person or group that knows the most about the content and creation of the data layer. This person should look through the metadata creation tutorial and, if necessary, ask the relevant questions within the organization to be able to complete the interview as fully as possible for the layer to be documented. Then answer the questions. The information will be forwarded to the PASDA specialists who will review the metadata and contact the creator for any further information or other problems or questions about the submitted information. The metadata will be reviewed with the metadata contact and indexed into the PASDA database where it can be searched in the context of the commonwealth clearinghouse.
This process will provide you with on-going education and support for your metadata efforts enabling you to efficiently create metadata at your pace while continuing your metadata education. You may continue to submit metadata to PASDA in this manner as long as you like without cost. As your understanding of the need and content of metadata increase you may find that you would like to begin an in-house program to maintain your metadata. At this time you can select any of the available software tools and the PASDA team can provide you with assistance in implementing your plan as well as providing your previously created metadata in a format that can be imported into the tool of your choosing.
One of the services that PASDA offers is assistance in preparation of metadata. If you are willing to share your metadata through the PASDA database you can work with a PASDA metadata specialist who will work with you and provide initial documentation for your data resources. For more information contact the PASDA Metadata Coordinator
How is metadata compliance encouraged in organizations like a large city or a state in which responsibility for spatial data is distributed among a range of agencies?
Most of the motivation for compliance come after the problem has become large. An organization with a relatively large staff will often come to the conclusion that metadata would be beneficial when it starts to forget what it’s data is. Most of the time there is a contract or a proposal that can be used to deduce relevant information but often there is data within the database tables that is lost because it’s meaning can no longer be remembered or you will spend time on the phone or in the hallway with colleagues trying to remember who did the watershed modeling that your boundaries are based on.