Metainformation

Metainformation is information about information resources that describes, documents, or governs the information they contain. It can include details about origin, context, structure, and access, and is commonly used to support discovery, interpretation, and management of information. In many discussions, metainformation is treated as a broader or more contextual form of metadata, emphasizing lifecycle, trust, and context rather than content alone.

Typical components include provenance (who created or modified the resource, when, and in what lineage), descriptive data (title, author, date, keywords), structural or technical data (file format, encoding, schema, version), rights and access information (license, permissions, embargo status), and quality or reliability indicators (accuracy, completeness, confidence levels). Together, these elements help users assess relevance, authenticity, and suitability for reuse.

Examples: a digital photograph may carry metainformation about the camera settings and the photographer’s notes, plus provenance and licensing. A dataset may include a data dictionary, lineage showing how data were collected and processed, and version history, all of which constitute metainformation about the data.

Applications include improving search and retrieval, enabling data governance and accountability, supporting reproducibility in research, and aiding digital preservation. Metainformation is often organized using standards and controlled vocabularies to promote interoperability, such as Dublin Core for descriptive records, PREMIS for preservation metadata, or PROV for provenance.

Challenges include variability in practices, incomplete records, privacy and security concerns, and keeping metainformation up to date as resources evolve.