LTER Metadata Query Interface – Current Status and Future Challenges Wade Sheldon GCE-LTER
Current Metadata Query Interface: DTOC
DTOC Query Results
DTOC Dataset Links – Site IS
DTOC Strengths/Weaknesses Familiar to LTER scientists Simple (keyword search, browse) Fast Populated by all LTER Sites Weaknesses Limited search parameters Limited metadata content to search Can’t tailor results (sort, filter, search within results) Targets of document links highly variable (Site pages) No scope for enhancement
KNB Metacat Web Query Interface
KNB Metacat Constrained Search
KNB Metacat Search Results
KNB Metacat Data Set Metadata Display
KNB Metacat Data Entity Metadata Display
KNB Metacat Strengths/Weaknesses Simple interface with keyword guidance Searches rich metadata content (EML content) Some constrained search support (title, author, all) Consistent display for all documents Highly configurable Weaknesses (of default web interface, stylesheets) Limited search parameters Can’t tailor results (sort, page, filter) Expansive displays of query results, metadata hard to view Links to entities, data “buried” Relatively slow
Ideal LTER Metadata Query Interface Subject of working group (shameless plug) Some considerations: Needs to be PI-friendly (usability is key) Should be flexible support multiple interfaces (search, browse, query builder) results should be customizable (user-selectable detail) ideally should support multiple database targets Should be results-oriented links to resources described should be highly prominent (“where’s the *&!# data!”)