provenancemetadata
Provenance metadata refers to the information that documents the origin, history, and lineage of an artifact, resource, or dataset. It records who created or modified it, when and where, and the sequence of transformations it has undergone. Provenance metadata supports trust, reproducibility, accountability, and auditability across digital and physical domains.
In data-centric contexts, provenance metadata typically adopts a model that distinguishes entities, activities, and agents. An
Standards and formats for provenance metadata include the W3C PROV family (PROV-DM, PROV-O, PROV-N, PROV-XML) and
Applications span scientific research, digital libraries, software engineering, cultural heritage, and supply chains. Provenance metadata enables
Challenges include ensuring completeness and accuracy, balancing granularity with performance, preserving provenance over long timescales, and