Applying Interoperable Metadata Standards (AIMS) 2 - A Platform for Creating and Sharing Metadata Standards and their Integration into Scientific Workflows in Mechanical Engineering and Related Disciplines

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Christoph Eberl; Professor Dr. Matthias S. Müller; Dr. Christoph Schweizer; Professorin Dr. Sylvia Speller; Professor Dr. Thomas Stäcker; Antje Theise
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 432233186

The description of research data by means of structured metadata is essential for the subsequent use and efficient application of the data. At the same time, the description must be specific, flexible and interoperable. Metadata schemas or ontologies alone can only help to a limited extent, since the required reusability limits their specificity. We have therefore developed an approach to create subject-specific RDF-compliant metadata profiles that enable precise and flexible documentation of research processes and data. The approach requires only ontology terms of low and medium specificity, which can be assumed to be available for many disciplines, but still achieves sufficient precision for typical scientific applications through their context-specific use and combination. To facilitate the modelling process and make it accessible to users with limited knowledge of ontologies, we have also developed a web service that provides a graphical user interface for creating, sharing, curating and reusing metadata profiles as well as for storing and validating profile-conforming metadata. In the proposed follow-up project, we intend to add new functionalities to the service and make it accessible to new user communities in a cooperation between infrastructure providers and researchers from surface physics and materials science. This includes measures to improve the user experience and ease of use of the service, e.g. when simultaneously creating multiple interdependent metadata profiles or when creating profiles that follow typical, frequently occurring patterns. In addition, the presentation of profile-conforming metadata uploaded to the service will be improved with subject-specific features such as a view to easily track the history of samples. We will also continue to improve the service’s integration and plan to make all relevant functions available via interfaces and software libraries as a prerequisite for use in other RDM infrastructures. This includes embedding the use of metadata profiles in electronic lab notes as a tool already used by many scientific working groups to document their research, enabling the creation of rich semantic metadata without the need to change established workflows. In the process, we will also create metadata profiles for typical use cases from experimental physics and materials science, providing the basis for subsequent reuse and adaptation in these communities. Last but nevertheless of central importance are extensive measures for training and dissemination of the service. This includes networking in suitable communities, organizing workshops or other events, and creating easy-to-understand learning resources such as best practice guides or annotated examples, as well as user-friendly help functions directly on the AIMS platform.

• DFG Programme: Research data and software (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Marc Fuhrmans; Dr. Marius Politze