Project Keywords Tab

Keywords are the mechanism to tag your project and products and serve to improve search and discovery of the metadata within a metadata catalog. mdEditor is designed using existing thesauruses that contain pre-defined keywords. Custom thesaurus can also be used.

How to add Keywords to your Project

1. Click “+ Add Thesaurus” on the right to add the different thesauruses.

2. Choose the desired thesaurus from the list of options.

3. Select desired keywords from the following pre-populated thesauruses.

4. If none of the keywords are sufficient for tagging your project, you can add other keywords with a custom thesaurus.

Project Required Keywords

GCMD Keywords (Required)

GCMD stands for Global Change Master Directory and these keywords are maintained by NASA. Search for relevant and useful keywords in the GCMD Science Keywords. There are GCMD Platforms and Instruments Keyword thesaurus as well. At least one GCMD keyword is required.

ISO Topic Category (Required for spatial data)

Because mdJSON metadata is based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) metadata standard, a project should select at least one ISO Topic Category. ISO topics are required for spatial data. mdEditor provides definitions of each ISO topic category if you hover over the '?' icon.

FDGC provides guidance on geospatial metadata standards.

'Biota' and 'environment' are probably the best fit for most FWS projects.

Example GCMD Science keywords and ISO topic keywords entry

Custom Thesaurus

If any of your desired keywords do not appear in the existing thesauruses, you can add them via the custom thesaurus. Use a custom thesaurus only for keywords that are not available in an existing thesaurus. Users cannot add keywords to an existing thesaurus; you can only add keywords in a custom thesaurus.