Descriptive Metadata for Scientific Data Repositories: A Comparison of Information Scientist and Scientist Organizing Behaviors

The integration of scientific data sets into repository collections is a continuing challenge for research institutions. This study used a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods approach to gather basic quantitative and qualitative data about how 11 information professionals and 16 scientists organized data sets for personal and repository use. The results incorporate comments from study participants that elaborate on descriptive metadata use, data curation practices, and organization styles/preferences.