TRAC: B5.1: Metadata for discovery and identification

B5.1 Repository articulates minimum metadata requirements to enable the designated community(ies) to discover and identify material of interest.

Retrieval metadata is distinct from metadata that describes what has been found. For example, in a library we might say that a book’s title is mandatory, but its publisher is not, because people generally search on the title.

A repository does not necessarily have to satisfy every possible request, but must be able to deal with the types of request that will come from a typical user from the designated community(ies). The minimum requirements must be articulated. The minimum may be nothing more than an identifier the designated community(ies) would know and use to request a deposited object.

Evidence: Descriptive metadata.

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Have we got descriptive metadata?  Oh, yeah!

One of the main work processes at ICPSR is creating and editing descriptive metadata.  In addition to keeping archival snapshots in DDI format, we also expose it via the home page for a study, the facets that appear in the search engine, and in the technical documentation we make available for download.