Towards a Metadata Schema for Energy Research Software

TL;DR

The paper tackles the lack of a domain-specific metadata schema for energy research software by developing ERSmeta through a requirement-driven process anchored in 32 expert interviews, literature review, and cross-schema alignment. It advances the field by delivering a formalized, interoperable schema with 86 top-level elements across ten thematic areas (158 total elements when counting nested items), including 19 mandatory elements and robust value vocabularies, implemented in SHACL Turtle and JSON-LD for machine and human use. The evaluation, conducted via in-vivo testing with two software projects using the SMECS tool, demonstrates overall usability and usefulness while highlighting a need to streamline element count for practicality. The work lays a foundation for improved findability and reusability of energy research software and suggests pathways for registry integration and further usability refinements.

Abstract

Domain-specific metadata schemas are essential to improve the findability and reusability of research software and to follow the FAIR4RS principles. However, many domains, including energy research, lack established metadata schemas. To address this gap, we developed a metadata schema for energy research software based on a requirement analysis and evaluated it through user testing. Our results show that the schema balances the need for formalization and interoperability, while also meeting the specific needs of energy researchers. Meanwhile, the testing showed that a good presentation of the required information is key to enable researchers to create the required metadata. This paper provides insights into the challenges and opportunities of designing a metadata schema for energy research software.

Figures (9)

• Figure 1: Overview of our method for developing the metadata schema. White boxes contain expert interaction and testing. Dark gray boxes contain development steps. Light gray boxes contain (interim) artifacts.
• Figure 2: Overview of our questionnaire for the evaluation of the metadata schema
• Figure 3: ERSmeta: metadata schema for energy research software (before the evaluation)
• Figure 4: Distribution of elements between mandatory, required, and optional
• Figure 5: Statistics of reused elements and used value vocabularies in ERSmeta