Metadata Help

We recommend starting with our metadata template if using Metavist.

The information below may be specific to submissions to the Research Data Archive.

• Identification

  • Basic Information

    Citation for the data publication:

    • Authors - data author names in the format LAST, FIRST MI
    • Title - title for the data publication
    • Data Presentation Form - data format (tabular digital data, raster digital, database, document, etc.)
    • Publication Place - Fort Collins, CO
    • Publisher - Forest Service Research Data Archive
    • Online linkages - DOI will be assigned by the Archive team

    Abstract - a brief narrative summary of the data. The narrative should provide enough general information to allow the user to determine if the data publication has sufficient potential to warrant use. Be sure to include location and time period information as well.

    Purpose - why were the data collected?

    Supplemental Information - other descriptive information about the data publication

    Time Period of Content:

    • Data is from - type of time period(s) represented by the data (single date, multiple dates, range, unknown)
    • Time Period - the dates to which the data corresponds. Approximate dates are acceptable and month and day are optional. Dates will display in YYYYMMDD format.
    • Currentness Reference - what does the time period correspond to
      • Ex. 1: Ground condition - data capture dates as in photography or field data collection.
      • Ex. 2: Publication date - information was officially recorded, as in a deed.
      • Ex. 3: Publication date - data from a '1978 USGS Topo map'.
      • Ex. 4: Observed - observations made in the lab.
      • If one of the 3 standard options does not fit your needs, type in your own description.

    Status

    • Progress - the current state of data collection
      • Planned - the data collection is not yet started but is pending at a future date
      • In progress - the data are incomplete and collection is ongoing.
      • Complete - the data collection is completed and no updates are currently planned
    • Updating - the frequency with which changes and additions are made to the information resource after the initial information resource is completed

  • Spatial Domain

    Description of Geographic Extent - description of where data were collected

    Bounding Coordinates - bounding coordinates in decimal degrees of the study area (can be the entire United States)

    Bounding Altitudes - range of altitudes in study area (optional)

  • Keywords

    Theme - we require three sets of theme keywords (see Keywords_for_FS-RDA_archive for more information):

    • ISO 19115 Keywords
    • R&D Taxonomic Keywords
    • Author keywords (Thesaurus=None)

    Place - keywords for study area, including state, if applicable

    Stratum and Temporal keywords - (optional) keywords describing vertical location used to describe the locations covered by a data set and time period covered by a data set

  • Taxonomy

    It is fine to provide just the list of scientific names as a separate text file and the Archive team will generate the taxonomy or you can enter your own:

    • Keywords/Taxon - choose from pre-defined keywords
    • Taxonomic Classification - The Taxonomic Classification metadata element should include a complete taxonomic hierarchy for each species in the data set. If you don’t know the full structure or have many species to describe, ITIS can be useful. The simplest use of ITIS is available from its main page, where you can specify a common or scientific name and have ITIS return the taxonomic hierarchy. This has always been a great aid for working with Taxonomic Classification in Metavist.
      • ITIS import walkthrough (if using Metavist)
    • Classification System or Authority - citation for source of taxonomic terms
    • Taxonomic Procedures - (optional)

  • Access

    • Access Constraints - should be “None” unless prior approval has been given
    • Use Constraints - any constraints with sharing these data?
    • Point of Contact - contact information for any questions about the data
    • Security Classification and Security Handling Description - we do not currently work with any classified data; leave blank

  • Analytical Tools

    List any tools, models, or statistical procedures that the data set is intrinsically bound to and are available for use in analyzing the data set. Enough information should be included so that a potential data user can easily determine why they might wish to acquire the analytical tool, and the methodology to acquire it.

    Examples include reconstructions of phylogenies, population viability analyses, community ordinations, most atmospheric and hydrologic transport analyses, and inferences on the effects of climate change on forest composition and productivity.

  • Miscellaneous

    • Data Set Credit - who funded this work? Include award number/project funding code(s) if applicable.
    • Native Data Set Environment - software, operating system, etc., if important for data use
    • Cross-References - citations for any publications that USE or are related to this data publication (including other data publications); please include DOI/URL

• Data Quality

  • Attribute Accuracy

    Assessment of how “true” attributes values are.

  • Consistency & Completeness

    Logical Consistency Report - methods used to check for inconsistencies

    Completeness Report - details about omissions, selection criteria

  • Positional Accuracy

    (GIS only) How accurate are location coordinates in this data set?

  • Lineage

    Methodology - how data were collected or obtained, steps in field or laboratory work

    • Methodology Type - field or lab
    • Methodology Description - IMPORTANT: Should clearly explain how data was collected concisely so that ANYONE regardless of background, education level, etc., should they have the proper equipment, could recreate the data. It needs to be thorough and understandable.
    • Methodology Citations - publications that describe methods or are referenced in methods, please include DOI/URL

    Source Citations - if any data were obtained from another source please provide: source citation, description of data obtained, and where data were obtained

    Process Steps - steps or data manipulations applied after data collection, or modifications made to source data

  • Cloud Cover

    Percent cloud cover, if applicable

• Spatial Data Org

  This section is only needed if you have a GIS dataset. The easiest way to fill this in is to simply have us do it. You can also have your GIS analyst fill it in and/or use your GIS software to create FGDC-compliant metadata, and then copy the relevant information to your metadata.

• Spatial Reference

  This section is only needed if you have a GIS dataset. The easiest way to fill this in is to simply have us do it. You can also have your GIS analyst fill it in and/or use your GIS software to create FGDC-compliant metadata, and then copy the relevant information to your metadata.

• Entity & Attribute

  • Detailed Descriptions

    Automatically populated by metadata exports from other programs (for manual entry, the overview description is sufficient.)

  • Overview Descriptions

    Overview Description(s) - IMPORTANT: descriptions of variables in each data set (literally need a list and description of variables in each file and be sure to include units - this can also be submitted as a separate document)

    Entity and Attribute Detail Citation - citation(s) that contain data summary or details about these variables

• Distribution

  How will data be distributed and by whom? In general we will fill this out, but we will need a list and description of all file formats used

• Metadata Ref

  • Metadata Information

    Metadata Contact - who to contact if there are questions about the metadata; this may be the same person as the data contact

  • Extensions

    - not currently in use

  • Constraints & Security

    - (optional)