1. LTER Metadata Query Interface – Current Status and Future Challenges
Wade Sheldon
GCE-LTER

2. Current Metadata Query Interface: DTOC

3. DTOC Query Results

4. DTOC Dataset Links – Site IS

5. 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

6. KNB Metacat Web Query Interface

7. KNB Metacat Constrained Search

8. KNB Metacat Search Results

9. KNB Metacat Data Set Metadata Display

10. KNB Metacat Data Entity Metadata Display

11. 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

12. 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!”)