What are metadata and metadata standards? What are their uses?

Metadata are structured data that provide additional information about a specific resource. This information may include a description of the resource’s contents, a technical description, the context of its creation, or its relations to other sources and works.

Due to the different requirements of various disciplines, different metadata standards have emerged (e.g., the “Ecological Metadata Language” and the “Gene Ontology” for biology). Metadata provide a standardized, machine-readable description that makes it possible to find, reference, and use research data later on.