Enabling a renewed interest in metadata: a Maryland spatial data infrastructure perspective

Abstract

This study examines users' attitudes towards metadata and identifies roadblocks in creating geospatial metadata. Metadata is important for understanding geospatial data; however, many users do not have an adequate understanding of metadata. Therefore, it is important to educate users and build a renewed interest in metadata. A self-administered Internet survey was created to measure users' behaviors and attitudes towards metadata. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square statistics were used to show if two groups (metadata adopters vs. non-metadata adopters) have significantly different answers. Results of the open-ended questions were coded and analyzed. The study revealed that 78.8% of participants use metadata. Novice users are less likely to use metadata compared to those with higher skill levels; therefore, the higher the metadata skill, the more likely the participant is to use metadata. Recommendations include improving metadata education, providing proper respirces for metadata creation and developing intuitive metadata authoring tools.