Cataloging and Metadata Commons^™

Sharing And Managing Qualitative Data, Sebastian Karcher, Dessi Kirilova, Christiane Page

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

The Qualitative Data Repository (QDR, www.qdr.org) is an archive dedicated to qualitative data and data underlying multi-method inquiry. QDR is the only repository of its kind in the US—dedicated specifically to curating and archiving qualitative data and attuned to the requirements and concerns of qualitative researchers, their materials and sources. Planning for QDR begun in 2007, as discussions about data sharing gained increasing salience in the social sciences. Much of the infrastructure and advice on sharing data, however, focused on quantitative data. QDR was thus founded to fill this gap and provide dedicated guidance and suitable infrastructure for the needs …

Metadata For Diversity: Identification And Implications Of Potential Access Points For Diverse Library Resources, Rachel Ivy Clarke, Sayward Schoonmaker

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate what metadata elements for access points currently exist to represent diverse library reading materials, either in libraries or from external sources, as well as what metadata elements for access points are currently not present but are necessary to represent diverse library reading materials.

Design/methodology/approach A field scan of thirteen contemporary metadata schemas identified elements that might serve as potential access points regarding the diversity status of resource creators as well as topical or thematic content. Elements were semantically mapped using a metadata crosswalk to understand the intellectual and conceptual space of …

Beyond The Matrix: Repository Services For Qualitative Data, Sebastian Karcher, Dessi Kirilova, Nic Weber

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

The Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) provides infrastructure and guidance for the sharing and reuse of digital data used in qualitative and multi-method social inquiry. In this paper we describe some of the repository’s early experiences providing services developed specifically for the curation of qualitative research data. We focus on QDR’s efforts to address two key challenges for qualitative data sharing. The first challenge concerns constraints on data sharing in order to protect human participants and their identities and to comply with copyright laws. The second set of challenges addresses the unique characteristics of qualitative data and their relationship to the …

Empirical Evaluation Of Metadata For Video Games And Interactive Media, Rachel I. Clarke, Jin Ha Lee, Andrew Perti

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Despite increasing interest in and acknowledgment of the significance of video games, current descriptive practices are not sufficiently robust to support searching, browsing, and other access behaviors from diverse user groups. To address this issue, the Game Metadata Research Group at the University of Washington Information School, in collaboration with the Seattle Interactive Media Museum, worked to create a standardized metadata schema. This metadata schema was empirically evaluated using multiple approaches—collaborative review, schema testing, semi-structured user interview, and a large-scale survey. Reviewing and testing the schema revealed issues and challenges in sourcing the metadata for particular elements, determining the level …

A Qualitative Investigation Of Users’ Video Game Information Needs And Behaviors, Rachel I. Clarke, Jin Ha Lee, Stephanie Rossi

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Video games are popular consumer products as well as research subjects, yet little exists about how players and other stakeholders find video games and what information they need to select, acquire, and play video games. With the aim of better understanding people’s game-related information needs and behaviors, we conducted 56 semi-structured interviews with users who find, play, purchase, collect, and recommend video games. Participants included casual and avid gamers, parents, collectors, industry professionals, librarians, and scholars. From this user data, we derive and discuss key design implications for video game information systems: designing for target user populations, enabling recommendations on …

Linked Data Pilot Project At Syracuse University Libraries, Brian Dobreski, Sarah Theimer

Libraries' and Librarians' Publications

Provides general information about the semantic web, RDF and the initiation of a pilot project at the Syracuse University Library

Breaking Records: The History Of Bibliographic Records And Their Influence In Conceptualizing Bibliographic Data, Rachel I. Clarke

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

A bibliographic record is a conceptual whole that includes all bibliographic information about a resource together in one place. With the Semantic Web, individual data statements are linked across the web. This position article argues that the traditional conceptualization of bibliographic records affects the affordances and limitations of that data. A historical analysis of the development of bibliographic records contrasted with the Semantic Web model reveals how the “record” model shaped library cataloging and the implications on library catalogs today. Reification of the record model for bibliographic data hampers possibilities for innovation in cataloging, inspiring a reconceptualization of bibliographic description.

Developing A Video Game Metadata Schema For The Seattle Interactive Media Museum, Rachel I. Clarke, Jin Ha Lee, Joseph T. Tennis, Michael Carpenter

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

As interest in video games increases, so does the need for intelligent access to them. However, traditional organizational systems and standards fall short. In order to fill this gap, we are collaborating with the Seattle Interactive Media Museum to develop a formal metadata schema for video games. In the paper, we describe how the schema was established from a user-centered design approach and introduce the core elements from our schema. We also discuss the challenges we encountered as we were conducting a domain analysis and cataloging real-world examples of video games. Inconsistent, vague, and subjective sources of information for title, …

Color By Numbers: An Exploration Of The Use Of Color As Classification Notation, Rachel I. Clarke

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Notation is a fundamental component of a classification scheme, especially library and bibliographic classification. However, notation is often considered an afterthought or auxiliary to classification itself. With the advances in technology, classification systems, including their notation, must evolve. What, if any, possibilities lie beyond alphanumeric characters and symbols? The author explores the possible use of color as classificatory notation by looking at the traditional qualities of notation and the classificatory needs it must accommodate, various theories and standards of color, and their possible applications to classification notation. Theoretical and practical implications are considered and discussed, as well as larger implications …

Interactive Online Forms, Ashley Nelson-Hornstein

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The use of interactive online forms can improve the efficiency of data management processes in any organization, particularly ones that rely on the collection of large amounts of data. The work of my capstone project sought to leverage technologies available in the open source community to improve the work-flow of one such organization, the Honors program at Syracuse University. As a result, I focused on transforming the often used paper civic engagement form into an autonomous electronic process. By appropriately following the stages of the systems development life cycle, a systematic approach that focused on planning and security conscious execution …