Summary and Schedule
Prerequisite
This lesson is being developed specifically for researchers in the humanities and cultural studies and designed for learners with no prior experience.
This lesson is developed as an introduction to the meaning of data and metadata in the Humanities. Learners will get familiar with concepts of data and metadata as well as formats such as XML and JSON and metadata standards.
Objectives
- Providing a basic explanation of the theoretical and methodological implications of working with data.
- Differentiate between analogue data, digitized data, and born-digital data.
- Understand how data is categorized, collected, and utilized within humanities research.
- Explore the implications of data types for research methods and outcomes.
- Understand metadata basics.
- Differentiate metadata from data.
- Differentiate the major types of metadata.
- Apply metadata concepts to practical challenges.
- Recognize the role of metadata in the humanities.
- Write and structure data and metadata in basic XML and JSON format.
- Explain the terms metadata standard, metadata schema and metadata model.
- Name the main concepts of the minimum record recommendation, the Dublin Core metadata standard as well as the METS standard.
- Organize simple metadata within Dublin Core and METS.
- Write triple for RDF schema.
- Identify the main elements of an XML Schema and write a valid XML file based on a simple XML Schema.
| Setup Instructions | Download files required for the lesson | |
| Duration: 00h 00m | 1. Getting Started |
What does digitalisation mean for the humanities? How is digitalisation changing the humanities? |
| Duration: 00h 30m | 2. Data |
What is data in the humanities? What are the distinctions between different types of data? ::: |
| Duration: 01h 10m | 3. Metadata |
What is metadata? What are major types of metadata? |
| Duration: 01h 40m | 4. Collecting, Storing and Processing Metadata |
In which formats can data and metadata be stored in a structured
way? What is a CSV file and how is its content structured? |
| Duration: 02h 10m | 5. XML |
What is XML? What are the elements of XML? How do you annotate data in XML? |
| Duration: 02h 50m | 6. JSON |
What is JSON? How do you annotate data in JSON? ::: |
| Duration: 03h 25m | 7. Introduction to Metadata Standards and Schemas |
What is a metadata standard? What is a metadata schema? What is a model? |
| Duration: 03h 55m | 8. Minimum Record Recommendation | What is the Minimum Record Recommendation for Museums and Collections? |
| Duration: 04h 20m | 9. Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard (METS) |
What is the Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard? What are its important elements? |
| Duration: 04h 55m | 10. Dublin Core Metadata Element Set |
What is the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DC)? What is the difference between simple and qualified Dublin Core? |
| Duration: 05h 45m | 11. Resource Description Framework (RDF) |
What is the Resource Description Framework (RDF)? How can information be linked using triples and URI? ::: |
| Duration: 06h 15m | 12. XML Schema |
What is an XML schema? What are the basic elements of an XML schema? What is an XML Schema used for? ::: |
| Duration: 07h 45m | Finish |
The actual schedule may vary slightly depending on the topics and exercises chosen by the instructor.
Data Sets
Download the data zip file and unzip it to your Desktop. Download also the lba_cao_exercise.xsd.
This lesson utilizes slightly modified sample from:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Open Access Initiative dataset. The original dataset is available as an Open Access CSV and is provided under the Creative Commons Zero license.
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Collection datasets. The original datasets are also available under the CCO licence.
- A xsd file as a draft for the Marburger Urkundenrepositorium - Datenbank des CAO und LBA, kindly provided by the author Mathias Gutenbrunner, University Library Marburg.
Software Setup
Details
You need a spreasheet software like Excel or Libre Calc as well as a text editor like Notepad, Vim or Kate. Advanced XML functionality within the text editor is not required.
If you have installed MS Office including Excel you can use this
spreadsheet software. Otherwise you can install the open source software
Libre
Office and use Libre Office Calc.
You can use the default text editor or install for example Windows
Notepad from the store.
If you have installed MS Office for Mac including Excel you can use this spreadsheet software. Otherwise you can install the open source software Libre Office and use Libre Office Calc. You can use a text editor such as TextEdit or any other text editor you like.
You can install the open source software Libre Office and use Libre Office Calc or any other spreadsheet software you like. You can use the default text editor or install for example Vim.