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Metadata
Metadata
Metadata is data that describes other data. There are two types of metadata. Structural metadata and descriptive metadata. Structural metadata is data about the containers of data such a paragraphs, chapters, headers etc. Descriptive metadata uses individual instances of application data or the data content such as titles, names etc.
Metadata as Annotations in Tradamus
Every object in Tradamus can be described through annotation.
In common practice, annotations which are attached to the object itself are referred to as metadata. Titles, authorship, provenance, and date are examples of information often stored in these fields. Common standards such as TEI and IIIF include a metadata property to accommodate this convention.
In reality, what separates data from metadata is its instantaneous context—it is a semantic distinction for convenience when considered through the scope of all digitized knowledge. To that end, Tradamus creates annotations when generating metadata that target the object which they describe. These types of relationships are at the core of Linked Open Data, the sheet music for harmonious interoperability and discovery.
Moreover, attribution for this metadata becomes individualized, so open and collaborative projects have more control over whose contributions become authoritative and proper credit becomes automatic.
Objects with "Metadata"
- The [Edition]
- [Material] (including Witnesses and editorial content)
- Publications(including inherited metadata from the Edition it publishes)
Sample
Sample Code as returned from http://tradamus.org/edition/105
~~~~~
{
"@context" : "http://tradamus.org/context.jsonld",
"edition" : {
"@id" : "http://tradamus.org/edition/105",
"dc:creator" : "http://tradamus.org/user/12",
"dc:title" : "Archimedes Palimpsest",
"metadata" : {
"@set" : [{]
"@id" : "http://tradamus.org/annotation/4136",
"dc:creator" : "http://tradamus.org/user/12",
"@type" : "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/contributor",
"@value" : "http://tradamus.org/user/14"
}, {
"@id" : "http://tradamus.org/annotation/4137",
"dc:creator" : "http://tradamus.org/user/12",
"@type" : "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/contributor",
"@value" : "http://tradamus.org/user/15"
}
}
}
}
~~~~~~
In this heavily abbreviated example, the creator of the Edition (user 12), has listed two other users as contributors in the metadata for Archimedes Palimpsest. A complete entry will also include
dates of creation, modification, and approval
Tradamus as the generating tool for the annotation
any additional tags or attributes added to this annotation
The http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/contributor above is what would have been input by the user in the metadata form. In this best practice example, the @type key is an available vocabulary and the @value value is a resolvable URI to the user's definition at tradamus.org. This could also be literally "@type" : "Thanks for helping", "@value" : "Jiayang Wu" and though it would not be as "linked" or "good" data, it would be valid and saved with the Edition just the same.
Best Practice
For all annotations, the more clearly the type is defined, the better the annotation. When considering content, a URI is ideal, but any meaningful content can be made more clear later on. A type can be any string of characters— the best will be either a defined type like http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/contributor or an array of types, if diversity will improve understanding.
In Tradamus, the tags can be used to filter annotations simply and build publications without having to decide early on which vocabulary you will use. Later, batch editing will be possible to accomplish actions like "give all person tagged annotations the type foaf:Person" and the data will be easily improved.
Related Topics
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