ASTM International

Standard Practice for Metadata to Support Archived Data Management Systems
 N E2468

Annotation

This standard practice describes a hierarchical outline of sections and elements to be used in developing metadata to support archived data management systems. Specifically, the standard establishes the names of metadata elements and compound elements to be used in the metadata, the definitions of these metadata elements and compound elements, and suggested information about and examples of the values that are to be provided for the metadata elements.

The metadata to be developed using this standard includes qualitative and quantitative data that is associated with an information system or information object for the purposes of description, administration, legal requirements, technical functionality, use and usage, and preservation. As such, it can be differentiated from other metadata in that it describes and provides an interpretation of an organized collection of data, not a single data element.

This standard is intended for use by those developing, managing, or maintaining an archived data management system. For example, public agencies can specify that this standard be used in the development of a metadata framework for data archives. Data collectors and data processing intermediaries may also use this standard to create metadata describing the original collection conditions and intermediate processing steps. The development of metadata by data collectors and data processing intermediaries can greatly assist in the development of comprehensive metadata by the data archive manager. The standard is intended for use by all levels of government and the private sector.

This standard is applicable to various types of operational data collected by intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and stored in an archived data management system. Similarly, the standard can also be used with other types of historical traffic and transportation data collected and stored in an archived data management system.