What Is Metadata?

Key takeaways

• Metadata describes data attributes that can be important to know, such as how data was collected or where it's stored, but may not be immediately relevant to your data’s primary function.

• Metadata within a database management system aims to streamline data navigation and retrieval by using column names and row numbers.

• Examples of metadata types include descriptive, structural, and administrative metadata, which each have different purposes.

Metadata is useful for verification, tracking, data integrity, and data organization. Discover more about what metadata is and the different types in this article.

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What is metadata?

Metadata is data about data. It describes attributes of your data that can be important to know but may not be immediately relevant to your data’s primary function. This could include information about how data was collected, where it’s stored, and how it’s used.

For example, metadata is often attached to digital files, such as photos, videos, and audio, to describe aspects of the file, such as its name, size, when it was captured, and where it was captured.

Metadata can be useful for verification and tracking purposes. You can refer to metadata to confirm that data is accurate and reliable (data integrity) or to create an organizational system for your data. Certain software and programs will also use metadata to interpret your data. For example, search engines use metadata to categorize web pages.

Types of metadata

There are several types of metadata, but three common types are descriptive, structural, and administrative.

• Descriptive metadata describes identification attributes, such as the file name and author.

• Structural metadata describes how data is organized, such as versions and relationships to other pieces of data.

• Administrative metadata describes technical attributes, such as the file size and creation date.

Learn more about metadata and metadata management from experts at Google:

What is metadata in a database management system (DBMS)?

A DBMS is a software system that facilitates the creation, manipulation, and administration of databases. Metadata in a DBMS includes column names and row numbers tied to the data. These attributes streamline data navigation and retrieval.

Read more: 8 Popular Database Management Tools

Related terms

• Data architect

• Data modeler

• Data warehouse

• Data wrangling

• Database administrator

• Relational database

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