On the Communication of Scientific Results: The Full-Metadata Format

TL;DR

This paper presents the Full-Metadata Format, a text-based data file standard that enhances data sharing, interpretation, and searchability by embedding comprehensive metadata within tabular data files, based on the INI standard.

Contribution

It introduces a new scientific data format that combines readability, flexibility, and compatibility, enabling automated data interpretation and semantic searchability.

Findings

Facilitates automated generation of publication-ready tables and graphs.

Enables semantic searchability of data collections.

Supports comprehensive self-documentation within data files.

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a scientific format for text-based data files, which facilitates storing and communicating tabular data sets. The so-called Full-Metadata Format builds on the widely used INI-standard and is based on four principles: readable self-documentation, flexible structure, fail-safe compatibility, and searchability. As a consequence, all metadata required to interpret the tabular data are stored in the same file, allowing for the automated generation of publication-ready tables and graphs and the semantic searchability of data file collections. The Full-Metadata Format is introduced on the basis of three comprehensive examples. The complete format and syntax is given in the appendix.