Seminar talk given at the EBI on 5 April 2017.

Abstract: Machine processable descriptions of datasets can help make data more FAIR; that is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. However, there are a variety of metadata profiles for describing datasets, some specific to the life sciences and others more generic in their focus. Each profile has its own set of properties and requirements as to which must be provided and which are more optional. Developing a dataset description for a given dataset to conform to a specific metadata profile is a challenging process.

In this talk, I will give an overview of some of the dataset description specifications that are available. I will discuss the difficulties in writing a dataset description that conforms to a profile and the tooling that I’ve developed to support dataset publishers in creating metadata description and validating them against a chosen specification.