Metadata is a term that has been around for awhile and is sometimes mentioned in relation to cybercrime and “big brother” activity, but at its core metadata is data about data. And that can be a great thing. This interesting information came to us from The Scholarly Kitchen in their article “The Experience of Good Metadata: Linking Metadata to Research Impacts.”
In today’s publishing environment, metadata performs so many essential roles that authors now rely on publishers’ ability to make good metadata available in a significant way. Metadata is not only basic information, rather it is now the main path for discoverability. It is how readers find content.
But what about research? There is a strong connection between metadata and content findability. Studies show a positive correlation between search success and accuracy. When it comes to search, both the architecture of the information and its display factor into positive researcher experiences.
Metadata’s impact on end-users can be measured in proprietary data, such as the 90% discoverability increase found by investment in semantic technology. Hopefully soon they can measure collective returns on metadata maintenance and enrichment.
Metadata makes digital content findable. However, findability works only when a proper taxonomy is in place. Data Harmony is Access Innovations’ artificial intelligence (AI) suite of tools that leverage explainable AI for efficient, innovative and precise semantic discovery of new and emerging concepts to help find the information you need when you need it.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, changing search to found.
