Types of metadata

Three main types of metadata are commonly distinguished: descriptive, structural and administrative metadata. However, metadata can also be further sub-classified.

• Descriptive metadata: provides key information to help identify and locate datasets. These include elements such as title, author, description and keywords

• Structural metadata: describes the organisation of the dataset and the links within it. They include information about the files, their hierarchy, the sequence of data elements and the relationship between different parts of the data

• Administrative metadata: Typically includes information on ownership, access rights, restrictions on data use and version control

• Legal or rights metadata: Provides information about licences and rights to use the data

• Technical metadata: Focuses on technical aspects of the data, such as file formats, encoding formats, file compression methods or required software environments

• Origin metadata: document where the data came from, how it was modified and who contributed to its creation

• Preservation metadata: Provides archiving information, including long-term retention

• Semantic metadata: description of value meanings and data component names