The matter of meta in research data management: Introducing the CESSDA Metadata Office Project

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/iq970

Keywords:

Research data management (RDM), Metadata, Controlled vocabularies, Multilingualism, Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives European Research Infrastructure Consortium (CESSDA-ERIC)

Abstract

Accompanying the growing importance of research data management, the provision and maintenance of metadata – understood as data about (research) data – have obtained a key role in contextualizing, understanding, and preserving research data. Acknowledging the importance of metadata in the social sciences, the Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives started the Metadata Office project in 2019. This project report presents the various activities of the Metadata Office (MDO). Metadata models, schema, controlled vocabularies and thesauri are covered, including the MDO’s collaboration with the DDI Alliance on multilingual translations of DDI vocabularies for CESSDA Service Providers. The report also summarizes the communication, training and advice provided by MDO, including DDI use across CESSDA, illustrates the impact of the project for the social science and research data management community, and offers an outline regarding future plans of the project.

Author Biographies

André Förster, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences

André Förster is the head of the CESSDA Metadata Office project at the GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. He can be reached by email: andre.foerster@gesis.org

Kerrin Borschewski, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences

Kerrin Borschewski works in the CESSDA Metadata Office project and in CESSDA Training. She is a doctoral candidate at the GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences and can be reached by email: kerrin.borschewski@gesis.org

Sharon Bolton, UK Data Service

Sharon Bolton is head of the CESSDA Metadata Office project at the UK Data Service. She can be reached by email: sharonb@essex.ac.uk

Taina Jääskeläinen, Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Taina Jääskeläinen works at the Finnish Social Science Data Archive and participates in the CESSDA Metadata Office project. She can be reached by email: taina.jaaskelainen@tuni.fi

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Published

2020-09-23

How to Cite

Förster, A., Borschewski, K., Bolton, S., & Jääskeläinen, T. (2020). The matter of meta in research data management: Introducing the CESSDA Metadata Office Project. IASSIST Quarterly, 44(3). https://doi.org/10.29173/iq970

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 3 (2020): IASSIST Quarterly

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2020 André Förster, Kerrin Borschewski, Sharon Bolton, Taina Jääskeläinen

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