Metadata fields for datasets
This reference is for editors who describe datasets and for site builders who design the dataset class. It lists the metadata terms of the W3C Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT 3), the Exponential datatype that holds each one, and what good content for it looks like. The datatypes are those listed in Choosing datatypes.
Contents
Dataset terms
| DCAT term | Label for editors | Datatype | What to write |
|---|---|---|---|
dct:title | Title | ezstring | A name a person can search for: "Street lighting maintenance requests 2025", not "SLMR_v3" |
dct:description | Description | ezxmltext | What the data is, how it was collected, known gaps, how often it changes |
dct:publisher | Publisher | ezstring or ezobjectrelation | The organization, for example "Department of Example" |
dcat:contactPoint | Contact | ezemail | A team mailbox, never a personal address |
dct:license | License | ezselection | One of the licenses your body approved |
dcat:theme | Theme | eztags or ezselection | One or more themes from a fixed list |
dcat:keyword | Keywords | ezkeyword | Free words people search for, in each language |
dct:issued | First published | ezdate | The date the dataset was first made public |
dct:modified | Last changed | ezdate | The date the data last changed (not the page text) |
dct:accrualPeriodicity | Update frequency | ezselection | Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, irregular, never |
dct:spatial | Area covered | ezstring | The area the data is about |
dct:temporal | Period covered | ezstring | For example "January 2020 to December 2025" |
dct:language | Language of the data | ezselection | The language of the values in the file, which can differ from the page |
dct:conformsTo | Standard or schema | ezurl | A link to the schema or standard the data follows |
Distribution terms
| DCAT term | Label | Datatype | What to write |
|---|---|---|---|
dct:title | Title | ezstring | "CSV, all years" |
dcat:downloadURL | File | ezbinaryfile | The file itself; its download address is made by Exponential |
dcat:accessURL | Address | ezurl | When the data is served elsewhere (an API, another portal) |
dct:format | Format | ezselection | CSV, JSON, XML, XLSX, ODS ... |
dcat:byteSize | Size | shown by the file datatype | Exponential shows the size of an uploaded file |
dcat:mediaType | Media type | shown by the file datatype | Exponential stores the MIME type of the upload |
Writing good metadata
- Describe the data, not the project. Say what one row is, what each column means and where the data came from. A short data dictionary in the description, or a separate CSV of column definitions, helps re-users most.
- Use the same words as your users. Check Setup > Search statistics for what visitors type (Search statistics), and add those words to the keywords.
- Keep dates true. "Last changed" is about the data. Exponential records when the page changed in its version history; that is a different date.
- One license per dataset. If parts are under different terms, split the dataset.
- Plain language in titles and descriptions; avoid internal codes and abbreviations.
Fields Exponential fills for you
| Information | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Created and modified times of the page | the object's versions (Content history) |
| Who published it | the version's creator, and the audit trail (Audit trail) |
| Address of the page | the URL alias of the node |
| Size and MIME type of a file | the file datatype |
| Languages the page exists in | the object's translations (Content languages) |
Related pages
- Designing a dataset class
- Tagging with eztags
- Metadata and social sharing
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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