Metadata for an Ethical Data Practice in Cartography

Abstract

As with each map, which is the product of a design and decision-making process, including the selection of data to be used, each dataset is created in a specific context where conscious and unconscious choices are made. Reflection on this data context facilitates comprehension of the data, its assertions, limitations and potential biases and, consequently, enables more ethical and responsible decisions to be made during the map production process. In order to identify the relevant context information and its potential formats, various documentation and reflection frameworks are examined and related to the ISO standard on metadata for geographic information (ISO 19115:1-2014). The analysis demonstrates that the ISO standard provides a comprehensive metadata model encompassing numerous aspects of contextual information from the frameworks. However, the analysis also reveals some gaps and differences in the format. To illustrate the availability of context information in metadata, a small use case with three open datasets is analyzed. The results indicate that key aspects of the context of origin are missing, thereby limiting the datasets' evaluation. Finally, the paper outlines potentials and requirements for integrating and further developing context information frameworks and their use in cartography.