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Metadata Guidelines

Documentation about metadata for digital resources.

DSpace Institutional Repository Metadata Guidelines

This guide gives a brief overview of the guidelines for describing metadata in the Research and Scholarship Institutional Repository.

Basic Metadata Fields

Dublin Core Field dc.title
Obligation Required
Repeatable  
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • The name given to the resource.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Every item must have a primary "Title." Use dc.alternative.title to add additional titles, if needed.
  • Enter the title as it appears on the item or accompanying information. NOTE: Do not use all capitalization, even if the title uses all capitals.
  • If the item does not have a title, create a short, descriptive title in square brackets.
  • It is preferred that titles are more descriptive than just a proper name.
  • To make titles unique, we sometimes add numbers when there is not another way to distinguish the content (e.g., near-identical photos).

EXAMPLES:

  • Accreditation and Certification: Do They Improve Hospital Financial and Quality Performance?
  • Deep Vision for Breast Cancer Classification and Segmentation
  • Raman Enhancement by Graphene-Ga203 2D Bilayer Film

WHERE TO FIND IN THE RESOURCE

  • In some cases the title may come from accompanying or supplementary information or documentation.
Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • title page (use the title page unless there isn't one)
  • front cover
  • copyright page
  • spine of cover
For images
  • title written on the back of a photograph
  • captions
  • envelope, slip cover, or case
For maps
  • title caption on map
  • notes around the outside of the map
For music scores
  • title page
  • top of first page
  • front cover
For videos
  • title screen(s)
  • label on disc/object
  • container cover
For sound files
  • title on disc/cassette
  • container information
For computer files
  • title page/screen
  • title at top of document
  • title on HTML header
Dublin Core Field dc.date.issued
Obligation Required
Repeatable Yes; not recommended
Allowed Values Standard: YYYY-MM-DD
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search Yes

DEFINITION

  • Dates associated with events in the life cycle of the resource.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Only use the international date time standard, YYYY-MM-DD.
  • Enter as much of the date as is known, starting with the year.

EXAMPLES

  • 2021
  • 2022-10
  • 2023-05-02
  • 1999-12-31

WHERE TO FIND IN THE RESOURCE

Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • title page
  • copyright page
  • cover or inside cover page
For images
  • bottom or back of a photograph
  • a time-stamp
  • envelope, slip cover, or case
For maps
  • title in a caption or legend
  • notes around the outside of the map
For music scores
  • top of page
  • title page
  • table of contents
For videos
  • title or credit screen(s)
  • label on disc/object
  • container cover
For sound files
  • information on disc/object
  • container information
For computer files
  • title page/screen
  • statement in a header/footer
Dublin Core Field dc.contributor.author
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text [entities coming soon]
Controlled Vocabulary No [entities coming soon]
Faceted Search Yes

DEFINITION

  • A person, agency, or organization primarily responsible for creating the intellectual content of the resource.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Use the last name, first name, middle initial format (e.g., Smith, Harriett S.)
  • If no author (creator) information is readily available, leave the field blank.
  • Only include individuals/organizations who were primarily responsible for the creation of the item.

EXAMPLES

  • Shields, Patricia M.
  • Rojas-Ramirez, Juan S.
  • Rahman, Shafiqur

WHERE TO FIND IN THE RESOURCE

  • In some cases the author (creator) may come from accompanying or supplementary information or documentation.
  • Authors (or creators) include any person/company/organization that was centrally involved in creating the item and may be found on:
Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • title page
  • front cover
  • end of document
For images
  • bottom or back of a photograph
  • envelope, slip cover, or case
For maps
  • statement in a caption
  • notes around the outside of the map
For music scores
  • top of page
  • title page
  • table of contents
For videos
  • title screen(s)
  • label on disc/object
  • container cover
For sound files
  • information on disc/object
  • container information
For computer files
  • title page/screen
  • statement in a header/footer
Dublin Core Field dc.language.iso
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text (not faceted)
Controlled Vocabulary ISO 639.1 (LOC Codes)
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • The language(s) of the intellectual content of the resource.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Use the ISO 639-1 Language Codes standard, with 2 characters (e.g., en; es; ko)
  • For English, DO NOT USE "English (United States)." Instead, use the more general English from drop-down.
  • Include all relevant languages (e.g., English (en); Spanish (es)
  • Do not include languages that are merely referenced or only appear as single words in text of another language
  • For visual images that do not have a textual caption or text shown in the image, do not include dc.language.iso field.

EXAMPLES

  • en
  • es
  • ko

WHERE TO FIND IN THE RESOURCE

  • Language is determined by examining the item.
Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • title page
  • words of the text
For images
  • caption
  • visible words within the image (e.g., a sign in a photograph)
  • text written on the front or back of a photo or image
For maps
  • caption or legend
  • place/physical feature labels
For music scores
  • title
  • lyrics
For videos
  • title screen(s)
  • label on disc/object
  • container cover
For sound files
  • spoken/sung words
  • information on disc/object
  • container information
For computer files
  • title page/screen
  • text
Dublin Core Field dc.subject
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search Yes

DEFINITION

  • Terms that assist users to search for items by topic or find additional related materials on a particular subject area.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Subjects (keywords) should be lowercase and plural (except for proper names).
  • There is no limit on the number of subjects/keywords, but they should be useful for finding the item.
  • Inverse names (e.g., Smith, Patricia)

EXAMPLES

  • molecular beam epitaxy
  • high energy electron diffraction
  • roadways
  • transportation

WHERE TO FIND IN THE RESOURCE

  • In many cases, the item must be read/examined to find subjects and keywords but they may come from.
  • In some cases subjects or keywords may be included (e.g., with theses, dissertations, articles, etc.) or come from accompanying or supplementary information.
Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • title(s)
  • abstracts
  • tables of contents
  • section/chapter headings
  • text
For images
  • bottom or back of a photograph
  • visible items (people, surroundings, objects, etc.)
  • illustrations
For maps
  • statement in caption
  • notes around the outside of the map
  • geographic area and time period of the map
For music scores
  • title page
  • table of contents
  • lyrics
For videos
  • label on disc/object
  • container cover
For sound files
  • information on disc/object
  • container information
For computer files
  • title page/screen
  • text of document
Dublin Core Field dc.identifier.citation
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable No
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • Recommended format for citing the original digital resource.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • If a recommended citation is included on or with the digital item, include the same form in the dc.identifier.citation field.
  • For items without a provided citation, use the APA Citation Style formats appropriate for the type of resource (e.g., presentation, article, poster, video, podcast, etc.)
  • Do not include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). That is included in the dc.identifier.doi field.

EXAMPLES

  • Fouad, N. A., Chang, W.-H., Wan, M., & Singh, R. (2017). Women's reasons for leaving the engineering field. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(875).
  • Shields, P. M. (2022). The Afghanistan War through the pages of Armed Forces & Society: An editors perspective. The Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Ottawa, Canada.
  • Selber, K., Tijerina, M., Heyman, C., & Hernandez, V. R. (2006). Supporting families of children with disabilities: What's missing? The Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, 2(4), pp. 50-62.

WHERE TO FIND IN THE RESOURCE

Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • a title page
  • page headers or footers
  • accompanying or supplementary information
Dublin Core Field dc.description.abstract
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes; not recommended
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text (not faceted)
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • A summary of the resource.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Enter the abstract only as it appears on the resource.
  • Use complete sentences with proper grammar and punctuation.
  • If the material does not include an abstract, input: No abstract prepared.

EXAMPLES

  • At the request of President Robert Hardesty of Southwest Texas State University, the economic relationship between Southwest Texas State University, the economic relationship between Southwest Texas State University and San Marcos was studied for fiscal year 1985. This study was carried out through the use of the Caffrey-Isaacs cash flow model. In the 1985 fiscal year the university dominated the local economy.
  • No abstract prepared.

WHERE TO FIND IN THE RESOURCE

  • In some cases, the item must be read/examined to find the abstract but it may come from:
Item Type Information Sources
For text
  • title page
  • abstract

Additional Metadata Fields

Dublin Core Field dc.format
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes
Allowed Values Controlled text
Controlled Vocabulary Yes
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • The digital manifestation type of the resource. The format should match the broad resource type for the item.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Format is determined by examining the item.
  • If one item includes multiple files, enter the format for each of the files. For example, an article with a supplementary video would include both dc.format: text; and dc.format: video.
  • Presentation slides are considered image.

GLOSSARY OF FORMATS

Format Code Use for:
Audio audio Sound files
Image image Two-dimensional, graphic representations
Text text Written or printed documents
Video video Moving images
Dataset data Dataset files
Dublin Core Field dc.format.medium
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • The digital manifestation type of the resource. The format should match the broad resource type for the item.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Enter the number of files and the specific file format.
  • Repeatable if there is more than one file accompanying the original resource in the record.

EXAMPLES

  • 1 file (.pdf)
  • 2 files (.pdf)
  • 1 file (.pptx)
  • 1 file (.zip)
Dublin Core Field dc.format.extent
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • Physical description detailing the size or length of the digital material, such as number of pages, file size, or hours/minutes of audio or video.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Specify the units, such as pages, hour, or minute.
  • Abbreviate per standard forms of measurement.

EXAMPLES

  • 23 pages
  • 2 hr., 34 min.
  • 56 min., 13 sec.
  • 56 MB
Dublin Core Field dc.source
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable No
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • Information about a resource from which the current resource is derived.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • This field is only used if the item is a derivation (a single map, article from a journal, etc.) or part of a larger series such as a conference or event.
  • Spell out the city and state, and country.

EXAMPLES

  • International Conference on Identity and Place, July 2022, Lexington, Kentucky, United States.
  • Texas Conference on Digital Libraries, 2023, Austin, Texas, United States.
  • Open Cities and Geography Annual Symposium, October 2018, Seoul, South Korea.
Dublin Core Field dc.publisher
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable Yes; not recommended
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary Recommended authority records
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • An entity responsible for making the resource available, such as the publisher of the original work.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • A publisher can be a publishing house, an organization, a service, a corporate body, government agency, museum, historical society, university, etc.
  • If known, use the authorized form of the name from the Library of Congress Authorities.
  • If no authorized version is available, enter the most complete version of the name that is known using proper formatting.

EXAMPLES

  • United States. Government Printing Office.
  • Lewis Publishing Company
  • American Chemical Society
  • Frontiers Media, LLC.
Dublin Core Field dc.rights
Obligation Recommended
Repeatable No
Allowed Values Uncontrolled text
Controlled Vocabulary No
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • Rights information provides information about rights held in and over the resource; describes the conditions under which the work may be used, distributed, reproduced, etc.; how these conditions may change over time; and whom to contact regarding the copyright of the work.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • In addition to the dc.rights field, there are four aspects of rights information available:
    • dc.rights.access - level of access that will be allowed to users.
    • dc.rights.license - if there is a license or rights for the resource, such as Creative Commons.
    • dc.rights.holder - individual/organization that holds the rights to the item
    • dc.rights.statement - other notes or details about the rights or licensing
  • NOTE: At this time, hyperlinks and embedding of licenses such as those for Creative Commons are not supported in DSpace 7.x. Spell out the license terms instead with a flat link, if appropriate.

EXAMPLES

  • This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  • This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
  • Material may not be reproduced without permission.
  • Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
  • Authorization for use or reproduction of any original material contained in this publication, i.e., not obtained from other sources, is freely granted. The Board would appreciate acknowledgement Authorization for use or reproduction of any original material contained in this publication.
Dublin Core Field dc.type
Obligation Recommended, if applicable
Repeatable No
Allowed Values Controlled vocabulary
Controlled Vocabulary Yes
Faceted Search No

DEFINITION

  • For publications, such as articles or book chapters, this describes the specific version of the resource being made available in the repository.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • This field is indexed and uses a controlled vocabulary to specify the version of the work.
  • Enter one of the following in dc.type for published works:
    • publishedVersion
    • acceptedVersion
    • submittedVersion

EXAMPLES

  • Final publication of a journal article: publishedVersion
  • Author manuscript version, peer-reviewed and accepted but not the final published: acceptedVersion
  • Pre-print submitted version of an article: submittedVersion