Our recent workshop on Data Repository Descriptive Metadata: Recommendations & Resources held in January 2025 was a tremendous success! The event brought together experts and professionals dedicated to enhancing the quality and accessibility of research data through improved metadata practices. This workshop was designed for data repository representatives who manage metadata, ensuring that datasets are discoverable, interoperable, and effectively described for future use.
The workshop provided an overview of the latest recommendations and resources available for enhancing descriptive metadata in data repositories. The event was structured to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing among attendees, with a focus on practical applications and real-world challenges. About 60 attendees joined us from across the globe, representing diverse fields such as Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Life Science, Engineering, and beyond. Participants hailed from 12 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, Portugal, Serbia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. This global representation underscored the importance of metadata standardization in supporting international research efforts.
Following an acknowledgment that the World Data System – International Technology (WDS-ITO) office is based on the Lək̇ʔwəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples territory, Reyna Jenkyns (WDS-ITO) welcomed participants before transitioning to Andrea Budac (WDS-ITO), who introduced the logistics and agenda of the session. Key presentations were delivered by a distinguished panel of guest experts, including Michael Witt (Purdue University), Matt Cannon (Taylor & Francis), and Kathleen Shearer (Confederation of Open Access Repositories). The presentations covered topics such as re3data metadata attributes, Research Data Alliance (RDA) Data Repository Attributes Working Group outputs, and the broader implications of data repository metadata in the research ecosystem. A significant portion of the workshop was dedicated to a facilitated discussion on implementation challenges and opportunities; curation and preservation were deemed to be the most difficult attributes to adequately describe, as indicated by the post-workshop survey result shown below.
For those that were not able to attend, the slides and video recording are available:
- Slides: Jenkyns, R., Budac, A., Altman, E., Xu, Q., Witt, M., Cannon, M., & Shearer, K. (2025, January 17). Data Repository Descriptive Metadata: Recommendations & Resources. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14679382
- Recording: https://vimeo.com/1047975847
Cohort Exercise
Building on the success of this workshop, WDS-ITO is launching a cohort exercise. This initiative will provide participating repositories with hands-on experience in evaluating and refining their data repository metadata records based on the recommendations discussed in the workshop. The objectives of the cohort exercise are twofold:
- To assist repositories in improving their data repository metadata records for better discoverability and interoperability.
- To gather feedback that informs data repository metadata guidance and re3data improvements.
We are targeting a cohort with diverse disciplinary and geographical backgrounds. The program includes an introductory session in early February, followed by one-on-one support sessions in February, and a concluding meeting in March to share findings and experiences.
By the end of this cohort exercise, participants will gain a deeper understanding of metadata best practices, improve their repository descriptions in global registries such as re3data, and contribute to the broader research community’s efforts in standardizing metadata.