The Metadata4Ing Ontology. A basic introduction

Data documentation via metadata plays a major role in any research project and metadata is the key to finding and understanding even your own data. In addition, it provides a reliable record for future references and enables reuse and reproduction of results.

In order to enable FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) use of research data, the documentation needs to follow standardized norms and be machine-actionable. For this, semantic models offer a wide range of benefits. Different metamodel schemas exist today, designed and developed for different purposes and disciplines. However, in many cases the vocabularies and their semantic definitions and formalizations do not fit actual engineering applications.

Metadata4Ing (m4i) is an ontology based metamodel schema for process-based description of research, focusing on the provenance of both data and material objects. Metadata4Ing is intended as a general process model applicable to engineering and many other disciplines and focuses on general concepts like in- and output, employed methods and tools as well as the investigated entity, reusing terms of existing ontologies where possible.

The HeFDI Research Data Days (HeFDI-Forschungsdatentage) allow researchers, lecturers and all other interested parties to get to know and try out different topics and offers in the field of research data management (RDM). In addition, various Hessian infrastructure facilities and centres present their offers and services.