It is easier to reuse datasets that are similarly structured: therefore, comparable data should be organised in a standardised way, using established and sustainable file formats, accompanied by metadata and documentation based on a uniform foundation, and using common vocabulary.
When community standards or best practices for data archiving and data sharing exist, they should be used.
In some communities, multiple standards may be applied simultaneously. For more information, see the section The role of data standards.
Here you can find recommendations for file formats, for frameworks and reference models, for metadata structures, as well as vocabularies, authority files, and application ontologies in the field of cultural research data and cultural heritage.
Create your data and metadata according to community standards and best practices for data archiving and sharing in your research field. With this in mind, select reference models (ontologies), content standards, data structure standards (metadata schemas), and vocabularies commonly used in your community.
Cultural heritage institutions adhere to the recommended metadata schemas for their respective sectors (libraries, archives, museums). The DFG Practical Guidelines on Digitisation. Updated version 2022 and recommendations from major data platforms, such as the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek and Europeana, provide useful guidance. Even though Linked Data components, such as referencing controlled vocabularies, are often recommended only as optional in these materials, you should implement them to make your data more future-proof. Researchers are well advised to develop a data model for their project’s subjects based on the CIDOC CRM. The formal semantics of this ISO standard for data modelling in the cultural heritage field form the foundation for data interoperability.
There may be situations where best practices exist for your research data, but there are valid reasons to deviate from them. Still, build on standard practices as much as possible to ensure maximum interoperability and reusability within the given framework. Thoroughly explain and document any deviations in the metadata and publish these materials to still enable the widest possible reusability of the data.
If your repository is specialised in a particular research field, it may implement specific standards for the data and metadata to be included. Regularly review and update your metadata schema to ensure it aligns with the current state of standards development.