Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35014967›Full record

SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2022

Understanding the Nature of Metadata: Systematic Review.

Hannes Ulrich, Ann-Kristin Kock-Schoppenhauer, Noemi Deppenwiese, Robert Gött, Jori Kern, Martin Lablans, Raphael W Majeed, Mark R Stöhr, Jürgen Stausberg, Julian Varghese and 2 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. The challenges of research data management in cardiovascular science: a DGK and DZHK position paper-executive summary.Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society · 2024
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Metadata integrity in bioinformatics: Bridging the gap between data and knowledge.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2023
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Hannes UlrichIT Center for Clinical Research, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8349-6798
Ann-Kristin Kock-SchoppenhauerIT Center for Clinical Research, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6685-4429
Noemi DeppenwieseChair of Medical Informatics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8031-1209
Robert GöttDepartment Epidemiology of Health Care and Community Health, Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9985-8311
Jori KernFederated Information Systems, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3206-9606
Martin LablansFederated Information Systems, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1880-5555
Raphael W MajeedUniversities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center, German Center for Lung Research, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8260-8815
Mark R StöhrUniversities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center, German Center for Lung Research, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3628-7280
Jürgen StausbergInstitute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0348-5579
Julian VargheseInstitute of Medical Informatics, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7206-3719
Martin DugasInstitute of Medical Informatics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9740-0788
Josef IngenerfIT Center for Clinical Research, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3274-8422

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMetadata are created to describe the corresponding data in a detailed and unambiguous way and is used for various applications in different research areas, for example, data identification and classification. However, a clear definition of metadata is crucial for further use. Unfortunately, extensive experience with the processing and management of metadata has shown that the term "metadata" and its use is not always unambiguous.

objectiveThis study aimed to understand the definition of metadata and the challenges resulting from metadata reuse.

methodsA systematic literature search was performed in this study following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for reporting on systematic reviews. Five research questions were identified to streamline the review process, addressing metadata characteristics, metadata standards, use cases, and problems encountered. This review was preceded by a harmonization process to achieve a general understanding of the terms used.

resultsThe harmonization process resulted in a clear set of definitions for metadata processing focusing on data integration. The following literature review was conducted by 10 reviewers with different backgrounds and using the harmonized definitions. This study included 81 peer-reviewed papers from the last decade after applying various filtering steps to identify the most relevant papers. The 5 research questions could be answered, resulting in a broad overview of the standards, use cases, problems, and corresponding solutions for the application of metadata in different research areas.

conclusionsMetadata can be a powerful tool for identifying, describing, and processing information, but its meaningful creation is costly and challenging. This review process uncovered many standards, use cases, problems, and solutions for dealing with metadata. The presented harmonized definitions and the new schema have the potential to improve the classification and generation of metadata by creating a shared understanding of metadata and its context.

Indexed as

MetadataPublicationsHumansReference Standardsdata classificationdata identificationdata integrationmetadatametadata definitionsystematic review

Identifiers

PMID35014967
PMCPMC8790684

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.