From Geospatial Data to Standardized Metadata, Validation & Catalogue Publication

Course Introduction

Geospatial datasets are generated, processed and maintained across different departments, organizations and applications. Without standardized metadata, it becomes difficult to understand what a dataset represents, where it came from, how it was produced, what its quality is, what restrictions apply and how it can be discovered and reused.

This training provides a practical introduction to geospatial metadata standardization using the ISO 19115 family of standards.

Participants will learn how to analyse geospatial datasets, identify appropriate metadata elements, create structured metadata records, implement metadata using ISO 19115-3 XML, validate metadata using XSD and Schematron, and publish and discover metadata through a catalogue using GeoNetwork.

The training also covers institutional metadata profiles, metadata lifecycle management, automation and integration with catalogues and geospatial services.

The course follows a practical end-to-end workflow:

Dataset Analysis → Metadata Creation → ISO 19115-3 XML → Validation → GeoNetwork → Publication → Discovery → Institutional Management

What Will You Learn?

Geospatial Metadata Fundamentals

• Purpose, role and value of geospatial metadata
• Metadata lifecycle
• Creation, maintenance, publication, reuse and archiving
• Metadata and data governance
• Consistency, traceability, reliability and reuse
• ISO 19100 family of geographic information standards

ISO 19115 Standards

• ISO 19115-1
• ISO 19115-2
• ISO 19115-3
• ISO 19115 conceptual structure
• Packages, classes, elements and relationships
• Metadata record structure
• Mandatory, conditional and optional information

Metadata Elements

• Resource identification
• Spatial and temporal information
• Reference systems
• Constraints
• Data quality
• Lineage
• Acquisition and processing information

Metadata Production

• Dataset and product analysis
• Metadata production workflow
• Metadata drafting
• Selection of applicable metadata elements
• Creation of structured metadata records

XML Implementation & Validation

• ISO 19115-3 XML
• XML structure and hierarchy
• Namespaces and schemas
• XSD validation
• Schematron validation
• Rule-based validation
• Error correction and revalidation

Catalogue Management

• Metadata catalogue concepts
• GeoNetwork
• Metadata creation and editing
• Import and export
• Metadata publication
• Metadata discovery

Institutional Metadata Management

• Institutional metadata profiles
• Required, conditional and optional information
• Metadata lifecycle
• Updating, versioning and archiving
• Metadata automation
• Scripts and ETL tools
• Spatial database integration
• Integration with catalogues and geospatial services

Course Objectives

The training will provide participants with an understanding of:

• Geospatial metadata concepts and the ISO 19115 family.
• ISO 19115-1, ISO 19115-2 and ISO 19115-3.
• Metadata elements and their requirements.
• Metadata creation and standardization.
• XML implementation of metadata.
• XSD and Schematron validation.
• Metadata catalogue management.
• Metadata publication and discovery.
• Institutional metadata profiles and lifecycle management.
• End-to-end metadata management workflow.

Course Modules

Module 1: Geospatial Metadata Fundamentals

Topics Covered

• Course orientation
• Purpose, role and value of geospatial metadata
• Metadata lifecycle
• Metadata creation
• Metadata maintenance
• Metadata publication
• Metadata reuse
• Metadata archiving
• Metadata and data governance
• Consistency, traceability, reliability and reuse
• Overview of the ISO 19100 family of geographic information standards

Learning Outcome

Participants will understand why geospatial metadata is required and how metadata supports data management, governance, discovery, reliability and reuse.

Module 2: ISO 19115 Family & Metadata Structure

Topics Covered

• ISO 19115-1
• ISO 19115-2
• ISO 19115-3
• ISO 19115 conceptual structure
• Packages
• Classes
• Metadata elements
• Relationships
• Metadata record structure
• Resource identification
• Data quality
• Constraints
• Reference systems
• Distribution
• Lineage
• Mandatory metadata information
• Conditional metadata information
• Optional metadata information

Hands-on

Analyse a representative dataset and identify the metadata information required.

Learning Outcome

Participants will understand the ISO 19115 family and the overall structure and requirements of an ISO 19115 metadata record.

Module 3: Metadata Elements & Dataset Analysis

Topics Covered

Resource Identification

• Description
• Dates
• Status
• Responsible parties
• Keywords

Spatial & Temporal Information

• Geographic extent
• Temporal characteristics

Reference Systems

• Spatial reference information

Constraints

• Access restrictions
• Use restrictions
• Applicable constraints

Data Quality & Lineage

• Quality information
• Source information
• Processing information

ISO 19115-2

• Acquisition metadata
• Processing metadata
• Imagery and survey metadata

Learning Outcome

Participants will be able to analyse a geospatial dataset and identify the metadata elements required to describe the dataset appropriately.

Module 4: Metadata Production & ISO 19115-3 XML

Topics Covered

• Metadata production workflow
• Dataset analysis
• Product analysis
• Production context
• Metadata element selection
• Metadata drafting
• Structured metadata records
• ISO 19115-3 purpose and role
• ISO 19115-3 XML
• XML structure
• XML hierarchy
• Namespaces
• XML schemas

Hands-on

Participants will:

• Create/draft metadata.
• Map metadata into ISO 19115-3 XML.
• Read metadata XML.
• Edit metadata XML.
• Prepare an ISO 19115-3 metadata record.

Learning Outcome

Participants will be able to create a structured metadata record and understand its implementation using ISO 19115-3 XML.

Module 5: Metadata Validation — XSD & Schematron

Topics Covered

• Metadata compliance
• Validation concepts
• Structural validation
• XSD
• ISO 19115-3 XML validation
• Schematron
• Rule-based validation
• Applicable conditions
• Identification of validation errors
• Error correction
• Revalidation

Hands-on

Participants will follow the complete validation workflow:

Inspect → Validate → Identify Errors → Correct → Revalidate

Learning Outcome

Participants will be able to perform structural and rule-based validation of ISO 19115-3 metadata and identify and correct validation issues.

Module 6: Metadata Catalogue & GeoNetwork

Topics Covered

• Metadata catalogue concepts
• Metadata discovery
• Metadata management
• Metadata publication
• GeoNetwork
• Metadata creation
• Metadata editing
• Import
• Export
• Catalogue workflow
• Metadata discovery

Hands-on

Participants will:

• Create metadata in GeoNetwork.
• Edit metadata.
• Import/export metadata.
• Publish metadata.
• Search and discover metadata.

Learning Outcome

Participants will be able to manage, publish and discover geospatial metadata using a metadata catalogue environment.

Module 7: Institutional Metadata Management & End-to-End Workflow

Topics Covered

• Catalogue operations
• Institutional metadata profiles
• Required metadata information
• Conditional metadata information
• Optional metadata information
• Metadata lifecycle
• Updating
• Versioning
• Archiving
• Metadata automation
• Scripts
• ETL tools
• Spatial databases
• Institutional infrastructure
• Integration of metadata with catalogues
• Integration with geospatial services

Final Practical Exercise

Participants will implement an end-to-end metadata management workflow.

Review & Discussion

• Lessons learned
• Institutional implementation considerations

Learning Outcome

Participants will understand how to establish and manage the full metadata lifecycle within an institutional environment.

Learn by Building: Hands-on Exercises

The practical component progressively builds a complete metadata management workflow.

Exercise 1: Analyse a Geospatial Dataset

Identify:

• Dataset characteristics
• Applicable metadata elements
• Spatial and temporal information
• Reference system
• Constraints
• Data quality
• Lineage

Exercise 2: Create a Metadata Record

• Analyse the dataset.
• Identify applicable metadata elements.
• Draft the metadata.
• Structure the metadata record.

Exercise 3: Create ISO 19115-3 XML

• Map metadata elements to XML.
• Understand XML hierarchy.
• Work with namespaces and schemas.
• Read and edit the XML metadata record.

Exercise 4: Validate Metadata

Perform:

XSD Validation → Error Identification → Correction → Revalidation

and

Schematron Validation → Rule Checking → Correction → Revalidation

Exercise 5: Manage Metadata in GeoNetwork

• Create metadata
• Edit metadata
• Import metadata
• Export metadata
• Publish metadata
• Discover metadata

Exercise 6: Develop an Institutional Metadata Profile

Identify:

• Required information
• Conditional information
• Optional information
• Institutional metadata requirements

Exercise 7: End-to-End Metadata Workflow

Complete the full workflow:

Dataset Analysis → Metadata Creation → ISO 19115-3 XML → XSD Validation → Schematron Validation → GeoNetwork → Publication → Discovery

Real-World Applications

Government & Spatial Data Infrastructure

• Government geospatial data management
• Spatial Data Infrastructure
• Standardized metadata repositories
• Geospatial data publication and discovery

Mapping & Surveying

• Topographic datasets
• Survey datasets
• Cartographic datasets
• Dataset quality and lineage documentation

Remote Sensing & Imagery

• Imagery datasets
• Raster datasets
• Acquisition metadata
• Processing metadata

Urban & Municipal GIS

• Urban GIS datasets
• Municipal spatial data
• Infrastructure datasets
• Planning datasets
• Metadata catalogues

Environment & Natural Resources

• Environmental datasets
• Natural resource datasets
• Monitoring datasets
• Geospatial information repositories

Institutional Data Management

• Enterprise GIS
• Spatial data repositories
• Metadata catalogues
• Data governance
• Dataset lifecycle management
• Inter-departmental data sharing

Who Is This Training For?

This training is designed for:

• GIS Managers
• GIS Professionals
• GIS Analysts
• GIS Administrators
• Spatial Data Managers
• Metadata Managers
• GIS Developers
• Geospatial Data Professionals
• Government Technical Officers
• Surveying and Mapping Professionals
• Researchers
• Academics
• Professionals involved in Spatial Data Infrastructure

It is particularly relevant to professionals involved in:

Geospatial Data Management → Standardization → Metadata → Publication → Discovery → Governance

Prerequisites

Participants should preferably have:

• Basic understanding of GIS and geospatial data.
• Familiarity with raster and vector datasets.
• Basic understanding of coordinate reference systems.
• Basic experience with GIS software.
• Basic understanding of XML is desirable.

No prior detailed knowledge of ISO 19115 is required.

For the practical component, participants should have access to the agreed software environment and datasets.

The exact institutional datasets, existing metadata standards/profiles and catalogue environment should be confirmed during the scoping process.

Software / Technical Environment

Primary Catalogue Software

GeoNetwork

Supporting Environment

• XML editor
• XSD validation tools
• Schematron validation tools
• GIS software for examining datasets
• Representative topographic datasets
• Representative raster datasets
• Representative cartographic datasets

GeoNetwork or an equivalent catalogue solution can be used, with the final software versions and technical environment confirmed during technical scoping.

Duration

3 Days — 24 Hours

Daily Training Structure

8 Hours per Day

• 4 Hours Pre-Lunch
• 4 Hours Post-Lunch

Maximum Participants: 20

Training Modes

The training can be delivered through:

• Onsite classroom training
• Online instructor-led training
• Hybrid training
• Customized institutional training

The practical environment, datasets and catalogue infrastructure can be aligned with the participant organization's requirements.

What You Will Be Able to Do

After completing this training, participants will be able to:

• Understand geospatial metadata concepts.
• Understand the ISO 19115 family.
• Understand ISO 19115-1, ISO 19115-2 and ISO 19115-3.
• Identify appropriate metadata elements.
• Analyse geospatial datasets.
• Create and standardize metadata records.
• Understand mandatory, conditional and optional metadata information.
• Create ISO 19115-3 XML metadata.
• Read and edit metadata XML.
• Validate metadata using XSD.
• Validate metadata using Schematron.
• Identify and correct validation errors.
• Manage metadata using GeoNetwork.
• Import and export metadata.
• Publish metadata through a catalogue.
• Discover geospatial datasets through a catalogue.
• Develop a basic institutional metadata profile.
• Manage metadata updates, versions and archives.
• Understand metadata automation using scripts and ETL tools.
• Understand spatial database integration.
• Integrate metadata with catalogues and geospatial services.
• Implement an end-to-end metadata management workflow.

End-to-End Training Workflow

The complete training follows a practical metadata lifecycle:

Geospatial Dataset

↓

Dataset Analysis

↓

Identify Metadata Requirements

↓

Metadata Creation

↓

ISO 19115-1 / ISO 19115-2

↓

ISO 19115-3 XML Implementation

↓

XSD Validation

↓

Schematron Validation

↓

Metadata Correction & Revalidation

↓

GeoNetwork Catalogue

↓

Metadata Publication

↓

Metadata Discovery

↓

Institutional Metadata Profile

↓

Metadata Lifecycle Management

↓

Institutional Metadata Management