Harvestable Metadata Services Development: Analysis of Use Cases from the World Data System

Minimally, a research data repository exists to make a collection of data assets available to potential users. If a dataset cannot be discovered and found, it cannot be reused (Garnett et al. 2017). Harvestable metadata catalogues are a key strategy for achieving greater global findability of data assets, as they create a surveyable access point to discover data products within large data collections. Such catalogues can be especially effective if they are tailored for interoperability with feature-rich infrastructures (e.g. meta-catalogues, see Kapiszewski & Karcher 2020; CRFCB 2014) that are highly visible and widely used, and also themselves integrated within the larger ecosystem of research infrastructures. This study offers insight into a set of World Data System (WDS) research data repositories ongoing and successful implementations of harvestable metadata services, which apply established and emerging research data standards and practices to fit global, local and domain-specific interoperability contexts. Establishing a harvestable metadata service involves making choices in a space where standards and technologies are continuously evolving. The repositories in this study leverage the resources they have, within the policy and funding constraints of their institution, to serve the changing needs of heterogeneous user groups. This document encapsulates and completes the work that was carried out by the WDS International Technology Office (ITO) Harvestable Metadata Services Working Group (HMetS-WG).