Metadata at the dataset level

CKAN allows administrators to customize the metadata on the basis of the characteristics of collected datasets. In the depositar, we have organized the metadata at the dataset level into three categories: Basic Information, Descriptive Information, and Management Information.

Basic Information

Field Name Description Mandatory (M)/Optional (O) Maximum Occurrence Data Type [1] Validators and Converters [2]
Title It is recommended to make it brief but specific. E.g. “Taiwan population density by region” is better than “Population figures”. O 1 gco:CharacterString if_empty_same_as(name) unicode
URL [3] This URL will be unique across CKAN. Only letters, numbers, - and _ characters are accepted. M 1 gco:CharacterString not_empty unicode package_name_validator
Description You can add a longer description of the dataset here, including information such as where the data is from and any information that people will need to know when using the data. O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Data Type The type of the dataset. Fields will be changed according to the data type. M 1 Data_type scheming_required scheming_choices
Tags [4] Here you may add tags that will help people find the data and link it with other related data. O N gco:CharacterString ignore_missing tag_string_convert
Remarks You can put some supplementary information for the dataset here. O 1 gco:CharacterString  
[1]For details please refer to appendix: Data Type.
[2]CKAN has the validator mechanism to check if the given value is valid. CKAN also comes with converters to transform the given value into a valid value.
[3]The URL will be generated automatically when you input the title of the dataset. If there is no letter or number in the title, a random hash will be generated. You can modify the generated URL afterwards.
[4]Please only use this field when there is no proper entry in the Wikidata to describe the dataset. Otherwise, use the Keywords field below instead.

Descriptive Information

Field Name Description Mandatory (M)/Optional (O) Maximum Occurrence Data Type Validators and Converters
Language The language of the dataset (e.g., Chinese or Japanese). O 1 Language_type scheming_required scheming_choices
Temporal Resolution Please refer to Fill-in snippet for temporal information O 1 Temp_res_type scheming_required scheming_choices
Start Time Please refer to Fill-in snippet for temporal information O 1 gco:Date ignore_empty temp_res_validator
End Time Please refer to Fill-in snippet for temporal information O 1 gco:Date ignore_empty temp_res_validator
Spatial Please refer to Fill-in snippet for spatial fields O 1 GeoJSON ignore_empty json_validator remove_blank_wrap
X.min Please refer to Fill-in snippet for spatial fields O 1 gco:Decimal ignore_empty long_validator
X.max Please refer to Fill-in snippet for spatial fields O 1 gco:Decimal ignore_empty long_validator
Y.min Please refer to Fill-in snippet for spatial fields O 1 gco:Decimal ignore_empty lat_validator
Y.max Please refer to Fill-in snippet for spatial fields O 1 gco:Decimal ignore_empty lat_validator
Keywords [5] [6] The short term to describe the contents of the dataset. O N gco:CharacterString wikidata_keyword
Books [7]          
ISBN-13   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
ISSN   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Journal   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Volume   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Proceeding   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Location   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Publisher   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Publication Year   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Book Query   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
URL   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Historical Material   O N Hist_material_type scheming_multiple_choice
Village of Research Area   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Religion of Research Area   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Family of Research Area   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Reservoir of Research Area   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Industry of Research Area   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Notes   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Pictures [8]          
Original Source   O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Scan Size Size (cm) of source (e.g., 60x72) O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Scanning Resolution Resolution (DPI) of source (e.g., 300) O 1 gco:Integer ignore_empty is_positive_integer
Spatial Resolution Spatial resolution (m) of source O 1 gco:CharacterString ignore_empty positive_float_validator
Scale Denominator Scale denominator of data O 1 gco:Integer ignore_empty is_positive_integer
Preprocessing Steps of data generating process O 1 gco:CharacterString  
[5]

We use Wikidata entries as the source for keywords. Wikidata entries are multilingual, which means the language of keywords may align with the site language setting.

You can also search and select keywords by an autocomplete dropdown list as shown below:

../_images/keyword_wikidata.png
[6]Use the Tags field above when there is no proper entry in the Wikidata to describe the dataset.
[7]The corresponding fields for the Books data type (See the “Basic Information” above).
[8]The corresponding fields for the Pictures data type (See the “Basic Information” above).

Management Information

Field Name Description Mandatory (M)/Optional (O) Maximum Occurrence Data Type Validators and Converters
License [9] It is important to include license information so that people know how they can use the data. M 1 License_code  
Author The name of the person or project responsible for producing the data. M 1 gco:CharacterString  
Created Time The time when the resources in the dataset were created. O 1 gco:Date ignore_empty date_validator
Project [10] [11] If you are a member of any projects, this drop-down will enable you to choose which one should own the dataset. O 1 gco:CharacterString owner_org_validator unicode
Maintainer If necessary, the name for a second person responsible for the data. O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Maintainer Email If necessary, the email for a second person responsible for the data. O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Maintainer Phone If necessary, the phone number for a second person responsible for the data. O 1 gco:CharacterString  
Identifier The unique identifier of this dataset in its source. O 1 gco:CharacterString  
[9]If you need to use a license not on the list, please select the “Other Licenses” and mark the license in the Remarks field above.
[10]If you select “No project”, this dataset will not be owned by any project and will be opened to the public.
[11]If you check the “Open for project members only” box below this field, this dataset will only be seen by members of the project owning the dataset and will not show up in searches by other users. Otherwise, the dataset will be public and can be seen by any user of the site.
../_images/add_dataset_3.png