When a study is created, a set of metadata is associated with that study. This metadata is called the Cataloging Information for the study. When you select a study to view it, you first see the Cataloging Information tab listing the metadata associated with that study. This is the default view of a study.
Cataloging Information contains numerous fields that help to describe the study. The amount of information you find for each study varies, based on what was entered by the author (Contributor) or Curator of that study. For example, one study might display the distributor, related material, and geographic coverage. Another study might display only the authors and the abstract. Every study includes the Citation Information fields in the Cataloging Information.
Note: A comprehensive list of all Cataloging Information fields is provided in the List of Metadata.
Cataloging Information is divided into four sections. These sections and their details are displayed only when the author (Contributor) or Curator provides the information when creating the study. Sections consist of the following:
- Citation Information - These fields comprise the citation for the study, consisting of a global identifier for all studies and a UNF, or Universal Numerical Fingerprint, for studies that contain subsettable data files. It also can include information about authors, producers and distributors, and references to related studies or papers.
- Abstract and Scope - This section describes the research study, lists the study's data sets, and defines the study's geographical scope.
- Data Collection/Methodology - This section includes the technical details of how the author obtained the data.
- Terms of Use - This information explains that the study requires users to accept a set of conditions or agreements before downloading or analyzing the data. If any Terms of Use text is displayed in the Cataloging Information section, you are prompted to accept the conditions when you click the download or analyze icons in the Files page.
Note: A study might not contain Terms of Use, but in some cases the original parent dataverse might have set conditions for all studies owned by that dataverse. In that case, the conditions are inherited by the study and you must accept these conditions before downloading files or analyzing the data.