Metadata Schema for Managing Digital Data and Images of Thai Human Skulls

Satapon Yosakonkun,Wirapong Chansanam,Panya Tuamsuk,Kulthida Tuamsuk

doi:10.3390/data6110114

Abstract

This research was aimed at developing metadata that meets international standards for the purpose of managing digital data and images of Thai human skulls for medical studies. The research was conducted by applying the Metadata Lifecycle Model of the Metadata Architecture and Application Team. The model comprises four steps: requirement assessment and content analysis, identification of metadata requirements, metadata schema development, and metadata service and evaluation. The research outcome was a metadata schema composed of four modules, seven data element sets, and 29 pieces of data, each of which had six sets of property descriptions. Metadata evaluation conducted by three specialists in the field of anatomy and forensic medicine and three experts in the field of information science and metadata through free retrieval based on the Continuum of Metadata Quality in four aspects revealed that the experts were satisfied with the quality of metadata at a very high level: 100% for completeness, accuracy, and accessibility, and 94% for conformance to expectations. The developed metadata contain details that can be used to describe the characteristics of human skulls, with consideration taken in the development of the language used, retrieval, access, data exchange, and sharing. Thus, this novel metadata schema can be of use in management of digital data and images of human skulls for the purposes of medical studies, i.e., human anatomy and forensic anthropology.

Highlights

Studies on human skull studies were initially carried out in specific, individual fields, but over time researchers have begun to adopt a more multidisciplinary approach
The outcome of the current research is the development of a metadata schema for the management of digital data and images of human skulls with the following particulars: 4.1
Metadata evaluation conducted by three specialists in the field of anatomy and forensic medicine and three experts in the field of information science and metadata through free retrieval based on the Continuum of Metadata Quality [24] in four aspects revealed that the experts were satisfied with the quality of metadata at a very high level, 100% for completeness, accuracy, and accessibility, and 94% for conformance to expectations

Summary

Introduction

Studies on human skull studies were initially carried out in specific, individual fields, but over time researchers have begun to adopt a more multidisciplinary approach. Principles and methodologies have been applied with the use of tools or scientific equipment to study archaeological processes in parallel to the development of theoretical concepts and construction of methodologies in order to interpret/explain historical and cultural stories This has led to studies and analyses of a wide variety of archaeological evidence in detail by means of standardized systems [1], thereby providing useful resources for intensive analytical studies of human skulls. Human skulls are the only type of evidence providing basic information about the gender and age of the dead, including their height and traces of uncommon characteristics that appear on bones or in the bone structure These may indicate pathologies from general infection of bones or trauma from a certain cause. They relate to a certain behavior that the person routinely performed, thereby providing a clue as to what their occupation was [4]

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