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Metadata are crucial for the discoverability and dissemination of published outputs. To make sure that their content will be indexed by search engines, aggregators and other services, and that it will reach the intended audience, publishers and service providers should follow a set of standards and guidelines determining how metadata should be structured, curated and distributed.
This course will help you understand the importance of metadata for the effective dissemination of scholarly content. You will learn how to display metadata in an online journal and how to leverage best practice to ensure optimal discoverability of your journal.
Please note that this course offers generic guidance. In order to be able to implement metadata on a specific publishing platform, you will have to consult the relevant technical guidelines.
• Interoperability protocols. The publisher guarantees that all its publishing platforms support widely adopted metadata exchange protocols (OAI-PMH, API) and most usual metadata schemas. The publisher's platforms also support bulk export of metadata, and they indicate on their website which interoperability protocols are used and how to access them. (DESIRED)
• Core metadata. The publisher guarantees that all its journals provide the following essential metadata on landing pages and via metadata exchange protocols, in human and machine-readable formats and under CC0 licence for each published item: title, full names and institutional affiliations – including country/region – of all author(s)/contributor(s), abstracts and keywords, funding information (as a minimum the name of the funder and the grant number/identifier), and information about the open access status, copyright holder and licensing. (REQUIRED)
• Complete metadata. Complete metadata, including bibliographic references, are immediately deposited in a registration agency in line with open metadata initiatives. (DESIRED)
• Persistent identifiers. The publisher guarantees that all its journals provide a dedicated unique URL (landing page) and a persistent identifier for each published item. Standard numbers and other persistent identifiers for articles, contributors, as well as other relevant persistent identifiers, are also provided in human and machine-readable formats. (REQUIRED)
• Registration of persistent identifiers. The publisher guarantees that the article identifiers are registered with registration agencies immediately at publication. (REQUIRED)
• Text and data mining. The publisher guarantees that all its publishing platform supports automatic downloading, extraction and indexing of the full texts and the associated metadata with the aim of improving the visibility and usability of the published content. (DESIRED)
• Formats. The publisher guarantees that all its journals tag their full-text content in interoperable formats and provide access in multiple digital formats (e.g. PDF, HTML, XML, ePub, etc.), at least one of which is suitable for preservation. (DESIRED)
• Citations. The publisher guarantees that all its journals specify adopted citation style (how to cite), and offer different options for different standards (APA, Harvard, ISO, Vancouver or other). (REQUIRED)
• Personal Data Protection. The publisher guarantees that all its journals comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as well as all relevant personal data regulations. This policy is displayed on the publisher’s website and ensured. (DESIRED)
· File format
A file format is a standard way of encoding information so that it can be stored in a computer file. It defines the structure and type of data that the file contains: how information is organised, encoded, and represented. Thanks to this, the data stored in files can be consistently interpreted, accessed, and processed by software applications.
File formats widely used in the context of scholarly publishing include:
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PDF (Portable Document Format)
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EPUB (Electronic Publication)
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
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XML JATS (Journal Article Tag Suite)
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DOCX (Microsoft Word Open XML Document)
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LaTeX (Document Preparation System)
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CSV (Comma-Separated Values)
Reference/derivation:: https://opendatahandbook.org/guide/en/appendices/file-formats/
· Interoperability
Interoperability is the ability of different systems, devices, or software to communicate, exchange data, interact and work together smoothly and efficiently. It involves the establishment of common standards, protocols, and interfaces to facilitate smooth communication among systems.
· Metadata
Metadata provides information about data. Specifically, it is machine-readable data that describes content, context and structure of resources and their management over time. In the context of scholarly publishing, metadata are pieces of information that describe published outputs (articles, books, journals, etc.).
· Metadata standard
Metadata standard is a set of rules and guidelines that define the structure and format of metadata. It ensures that resources are described consistently and that descriptions are understandable and usable across different platforms.
A specific implementation of a metadata standard tailored to a particular context or use case is called metadata schema. It details how the elements defined in a standard should be used and it often includes additional rules and guidelines.
Widely used metadata standards include:
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MARC (Machine-Readable Cataloguing)
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MODS (Metadata Object Description Schema)
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TEI (Text Encoding Initiative)
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PREMIS (Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies)
Reference/derivation: RDA Metadata Standards Catalogue: https://rdamsc.bath.ac.uk/
· Metadata exchange protocol
A metadata exchange protocol is a set of rules and standards that governs the transfer of metadata between systems, applications, or services. These protocols facilitate the sharing, discovery, and use of metadata and ensure interoperability, and consistent interpretation of metadata across various systems and platforms.
Commonly used metadata exchange protocols
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OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting)
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OAI-ORE (Open Archives Initiative Object Reuse and Exchange)
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RESTful APIs (Representational State Transfer APIs)
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SWORD (Simple Web-service Offering Repository Deposit)
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SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)
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SPARQL (SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language)
‘Metadata’. 2024. European Diamond Capacity Hub. 2024. https://toolsuite.diamas.org/metadata.
Avanço, Karla. 2023a. ‘What Is Metadata for Publication and How Is It Used? Part 1: Introduction to Metadata’. Billet. The Road to FAIR (blog). 19 January 2023. https://roadtofair.hypotheses.org/499.
Avanço, Karla. 2023b. ‘What Is Metadata for Publication and How Is It Used? Part 2: Metadata Standards’. Billet. The Road to FAIR (blog). 3 February 2023.
https://roadtofair.hypotheses.org/696.Iryna : Perhaps include this resource as well to the references: https://www.erudit.org/public/documents/Better_Practices_Metadata_CP.pdf -