Cataloging Best Practices

From ComPADRE Wiki

Contents 1 Purpose 1.1 Languages 1.2 Locations 1.3 Subjects 1.4 Keywords 1.5 Description Sets 1.6 Citation Specifics 1.7 Cost 1.8 Restriction 1.9 Educational Description 1.10 Version/Edition 1.11 Size 1.12 Requirements 1.13 Catalogs 1.14 Astronomy Section 1.15 Picture File 1.16 Contexts 1.17 End User Roles 1.18 Resource Type 1.19 Formats 1.20 Contributions 1.21 Metametadata Contributions

Purpose

This document is an outline of best practices for data entry into the ComPADRE database, with a discussion of the most important information to be included in each data field. For more information see the "Metadata Tutorial". It goes through each field in the order in which they appear on the tagging interface.

Languages

These are the available languages for the item. Include all.

Locations

This is the URL(s) of the item. Currently all items on ComPADRE must have a web location.

1. For non-electronic items, such as books, a link to the publisher’s website for the book, or a similar resource, should be used. Do not use Amazon.
2. For items with mirror copies available on the web, include all mirror URL’s. This is particularly important for sites with different language translations.
3. Make sure the URL and Title/subject match for web sites with many sections. However, do not (except for rare cases) link into the middle of a web page.

Subjects

This is the scientific topic of the item, expressed in a fixed vocabulary (drop downs). If there are items where the vocabulary doesn’t fit, let the ComPADRE administrators know. We will continue to update this list.

1. "General Physics/Curriculum" is for items that are about developing or teaching a particular curriculum. This is not for items that can be used as part of a curriculum (as most everything can be). "Curriculum" is a "Resource Type".
2. In general, do not use "None" as a Specific Subject unless the item truly covers several topics in the General Subject. (These will be renamed to "General" or something of that sort.)
3. Astronomy has 3 levels of subjects, including "Detail". Use all three if possible.

Keywords

These are one or two word phrases that describe important aspects of the item. They should be words that a user interested in the item would use to think about or describe it.

1. Keywords should be very specific to the item and/or point out key features of the item.
2. Keywords that are in the title of the object generally are not necessary. Keywords that are also in the description can be added.
3. Keywords are not required, but should be added if they are likely to help users find the item.
4. Keywords that are synonyms for terms used in the title or description are useful.

Description Sets

Descriptions are crucial information for items. They should be short, concise, and informative.

1. The first sentence of the description and the title and subject of an item should give enough information for users to have a good idea about what it is and does.
2. Descriptions should be well written in the third person using complete sentences.
3. Try not to anthropomorphize web sites. Web sites don’t really "discuss" or "tell"; they "contain information" or "provide teaching resources".
4. It is rarely sufficient to copy a web site description from a web page to the ComPADRE description. They usually are not sufficiently concise or written for our purposes. They are, however, a good starting point.
5. Do not worry about adding multiple descriptions in the different "sets". These are for use by the editors of different collections.

Citation Specifics

This provides information about the age and continuing maintenance of the material.

1. Include accurate information if at all possible. Sometimes it is available in the page header if you view the html source.
2. If it can’t be found, use the current date.

Cost

This field indicates whether or not there is a cost to use the content of the site. The content is the scientific or educational material that could be used for teaching or learning. Selecting "Yes" or "May" requires a description of the cost.

1. For commercial sites that are advertisements for materials, the cost field should be "Yes", although a user can view the site for free. If there are materials available for free and for-fee materials are advertised, the cost field should be "May".
2. The description should include what the cost is for, such as "Free for individual use, fee for use in class".
3. The description should not include the actual price as this might change.

Restriction

This field should indicate copyright or any other restrictions or lack of restrictions on use.

1. All materials are copyrighted except for those that explicitly renounce any copyright.
2. Copyright should be attributed to the author or organization publishing the material if there is no explicit copyright statement.
3. For sites with copyright or other usage statements, these should be either copied into the description field (if it is sufficiently short), or the URL of the statement entered into this field.
4. Other information should be included if available, such as whether the source code is available and/or modifiable, if users have permission to download and/or change the content, and any other rights management in force such as Gnu Public License or Creative Commons.

Educational Description

Do not use.

Version/Edition

Include if available. This is generally not important for web sites.

Size

Use only for single file content such as movies where download time might be an issue.

Requirements

Browser, OS, Plug-in, or other technological requirements to use the material.

1. This should only include needs that are not always available. For example, it is not needed if a standard browser is all that is required to view content.
2. The "Format" metadata field indicates the file or content type of the material. The Requirements field does not need to repeat the information in "Format".
3. Requirements are needed if there are only specific versions of software that can view the content.

Catalogs

Information about other categorization schemes that describe the content. Examples include ISBN number or Digital Object Identifier (DOI).

Astronomy Section

Astronomical object names should be provided for objects that have more than one astronomical designation.

Picture File

This allows you to input an image of or describing ComPADRE items. Generally not used.

Contexts

This is the grade level(s) for which materials are appropriate. Many items are appropriate for more than one level.

1. When assigning material to a K-12 level, be sure that the vocabulary used in the item is appropriate for those grade levels. When unsure, do not include the level.
2. Research-level content should be set as Graduate School.
3. When working on a collection for a certain grade level, be sure that materials really are appropriate for that grade level, and be sure to include other levels where appropriate.
4. Many items meant for K-12 or introductory course are also suitable for the "General Public".

End User Roles

These are the types of users who will be directly interacting with or making use of items.

1. Most items will be listed for "Learners". This includes any content meant for reference, tutoring, hands-on activities, homework exercises, etc.
2. Items for "Teachers" include lesson plans, activities that include instructions on how to incorporate them into a class, references on teaching, etc.
3. Items for "Author" or "Designer" are building blocks or reference materials on how to build learning activities or objects.
4. Items for "Researcher" include scientific references at a fairly sophisticated level, data sets, and results from research. This material will often be at the "Graduate Student" level.
5. Items for "Managers" will be, for example, materials for administrators to understand and evaluate learning resources and activities.

Resource Type

The resource type involves both the form of an object and the way(s) in which it will be used. It is crucial to understand the Resource Type vocabulary and apply it consistently.

1. See Appendix A for a grouping of common resource types and the distinction between them.
2. Many items will fit into several different resource types depending on their use. Try to include all that are appropriate.

Formats

These are the electronic (or non-electronic) formats of the item.

1. The formats included should be those in which the main content is delivered. For example, for a web site where all content is in Flash animations, the format should be Flash. If there is also content on the web pages, include text/html.
2. Multiple formats are common for websites that provide significant amount of information through images (for example text/html and image/gif).
3. The most common format will be text/html.

Contributions

This provides information about the people and/or organizations responsible for creating, distributing, and maintaining the item. All items need an author, editor, or publisher contribution.

1. Information about contributors is in the form of "vcards". See Appendix B for more information about creating vcards.
2. A search must be done for existing vcards before creating a new one. Separate searches by name and then by institution should be performed. We do not want duplicate vcards if possible.
3. Publishers are often the institutions that are hosting web sites.
4. As much information as possible should be entered into vcards, within reason. No more than 5 minutes should be spent trying to find information for most vcards.
5. Searches of the institutional websites of authors are sometimes needed to find contact information. Similarly, a Google search can sometimes return this information.
6. Viewing the web page source can sometimes return information on authors.
7. Contributions are not for information about the person who submitted (or tagged) and item on ComPADRE.

Metametadata Contributions

This is filled automatically and generally should not be changed.