metadata
Let an agent handle metadata by schema, quality, provenance and privacy.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent handle metadata by schema, quality, provenance and privacy.
Data that describes other data or resources, such as titles, authors, dates, formats, identifiers, provenance and rights; examples include library catalogue records, file timestamps and Wikidata items.
What it is for: Finding, understanding, managing and reusing resources.
It can be describe resources with a schema; validate and enrich metadata; track provenance; strip sensitive metadata before sharing.
Distinguishing features
Data about data
Descriptive, structural and administrative
Enables discovery and reuse
Can leak personal information
What it looks like
Fields and values in records, headers and embedded tags.
How it is recognised
Schemas such as Dublin Core or schema.org
Embedded tags such as EXIF
Identifiers such as DOIs
Related models
is a kind of - category
describes - object
is structured by - standard
is used in - applications
In practice
Families and kinds
descriptive metadata
structural metadata
administrative and rights metadata
provenance metadata
embedded file metadata
Identifiers
DOI digital object identifier resources
schema term URI vocabulary terms fields
Standards and regulation
Dublin Core (ISO 15836)
schema.org
W3C PROV
GDPR for personal data in metadata
Failure modes and hazards
Location leaks in photo metadata
Inconsistent schemas
Stale or wrong metadata
Also called
+43
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Schema Structure.
Schemas enable exchange.
Standard
Vocabulary.
Standard
Schema.
- Which metadata schema is used? definition
- Which version? provenance
Fields
Elements.
Fields
Fields.
- Which fields are required? definition
- Are values controlled? definition
Quality Accuracy.
Quality drives usefulness.
Validation
Checks.
Validation
Validation.
- Is the metadata valid against the schema? boundary
- How complete is it? measurement
Provenance
Origin.
Provenance
Provenance.
- Who created the metadata and when? provenance
- Has it been changed? provenance
Privacy Leaks.
Metadata can reveal people.
Personal data
Hidden details.
Personal
Personal data.
- Does the metadata contain location or personal details? boundary
- Should it be removed before sharing? action
Rights
Licences.
Rights
Rights metadata.
- What licence does the resource carry? provenance
- Is attribution recorded? provenance
Use Discovery.
Metadata enables discovery.
Search
Findability.
Search
Findability.
- Does the metadata make the resource findable? boundary
- Is it FAIR? boundary
Linking
Identifiers.
Linking
Linked data.
- Which persistent identifiers link it to other data? provenance
- Do they resolve? boundary
What the second pass must settle
- Should metadata types be separate entries?
- How should schemas be linked?
- Registry aliases list specific metadata records; how should they be linked?