ASTM_E_2468_-_05_2012.pdf

Designation:E246805(Reapproved 2012)Standard Practice forMetadata to Support Archived Data Management Systems1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2468;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This standard practice describes a hierarchical outline ofsections and elements to be used in developing metadata tosupport archived data management systems.Specifically,thestandard establishes the names of metadata elements andcompound elements to be used in the metadata,the definitionsof these metadata elements and compound elements,andsuggested information about and examples of the values thatare to be provided for the metadata elements.1.2 The metadata to be developed using this standardincludes qualitative and quantitative data that is associated withan information system or information object for the purposes ofdescription,administration,legal requirements,technicalfunctionality,use and usage,and preservation.As such,it canbe differentiated from other metadata in that it describes andprovides an interpretation of an organized collection of data,not a single data element.1.3 This standard is intended for use by those developing,managing,or maintaining an archived data management sys-tem.For example,public agencies can specify that thisstandard be used in the development of a metadata frameworkfor data archives.Data collectors and data processing interme-diaries may also use this standard to create metadata describingthe original collection conditions and intermediate processingsteps.The development of metadata by data collectors and dataprocessing intermediaries can greatly assist in the developmentof comprehensive metadata by the data archive manager.Thestandard is intended for use by all levels of government and theprivate sector.1.4 This standard is applicable to various types of opera-tional data collected by intelligent transportation systems(ITS)and stored in an archived data management system.Similarly,the standard can also be used with other types of historicaltraffic and transportation data collected and stored in anarchived data management system.1.5 This standard does not specify the means by whichmetadata is to be organized in a computer system or in a datatransfer,nor the means by which metadata is to be transmitted,communicated,or presented to the user.Additionally,thestandard is not intended to reflect or imply a specific imple-mentation design.An implementation design requires adaptingthe structure and form of the standard to meet specificapplication and environment requirements.1.6 This standard adopts with minimal changes the FederalGeographic Data Committees(FGDCs)existing ContentStandard for Digital Geospatial Metadata(FGDC-STD-001-1998)as the recommended metadata framework for archiveddata management systems.The FGDC metadata standard waschosen as the framework because of its relevance and estab-lished reputation among the spatial data community.A benefitof using the FGDC standard is the widespread availability ofinformational resources and software tools to create,validate,and manage metadata(see http:/www.fgdc.gov/metadata/links/metalinks.html).Commentary and several examples areprovided in this standard to illustrate the use of the FGDCstandard in the ITS domain.The detail of the standard mayappear intimidating,but the examples in the Appendix illus-trate the relative simplicity of the standard when implemented.1.7 Users of this standard should note that several sectionsof the metadata standard(that is,Annex A3 and Annex A4)address spatial referencing documentation,which may not beapplicable to all data archives.These spatial referencingsections are designated as mandatory-if-applicable,whichmeans that metadata is not required for these sections if spatialreferencing is not used.AnnexA6,Distribution Information,isalso designated as mandatory-if-applicable and thus may not berequired.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E867 Terminology Relating to Vehicle-Pavement SystemsE2259 Guide forArchiving and Retrieving Intelligent Trans-portation Systems-Generated Data1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E17 on Vehicle-Pavement Systems and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E17.52 onTraffic Monitoring.Current edition approved July 1,2012.Published July 2012Last previous versionapproved 2005 as D246805.DOI:10.1520/E2468-05R12.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 2.2 American National Stan