Overview
ISO/IEC TR 20943-5:2013 - Information technology - Procedures for achieving metadata registry content consistency - Part 5: Metadata mapping procedure - defines a practical metadata mapping procedure (MMP) to improve metadata crosswalks and maximize interoperability among ISO/IEC 11179‑based registries. The Technical Report explains how to establish consistent mappings between metadata element sets by aligning data element concepts and harmonizing conceptual/value domains so that systems can exchange data with minimal loss of meaning.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and Purpose
- Establish metadata crosswalks based on the ISO/IEC 11179 framework to improve mapping quality and registry content consistency.
- Three main processes for Data Element Concept (DEC) mapping
- Identifying metadata element sets - survey candidate metadata sets, record purpose, authority, sample data and field counts.
- Grouping data element concepts - find object classes, group DECs by object class and by property; select a primary metadata element set for aggregation.
- Mapping data element concepts - create common DECs (per ISO/IEC 11179), build mapping tables and annotate mapping types and heterogeneities (lexical, syntactic, hierarchical, domain, complicated).
- Conceptual domain and value domain mapping
- Conversion types: code conversion, letter/case conversion, unit conversion, generalization.
- Recomposition types: composition and decomposition to combine or split values across elements.
- Documentation and notes
- Each mapping cell should include mapping type and notes about heterogeneity and expected transformations.
Practical applications and users
ISO/IEC TR 20943-5:2013 is intended for practitioners who need robust metadata interoperability, including:
- Metadata architects and registry managers designing or harmonizing MDRs (metadata registries).
- Data stewards and integrators performing crosswalks between schemas (e.g., Dublin Core, MARC, MODS, TEI).
- Enterprise and government system integrators implementing semantic interoperability across databases and services.
- Libraries, digital repositories and standards bodies aligning cataloguing and descriptive metadata.
Using the MMP helps reduce semantic drift, support automated transformations (code/unit conversions), and provide clear audit trails for mapping decisions.
Related standards
- ISO/IEC 11179 series (notably ISO/IEC 11179-1 and ISO/IEC 11179-3) - foundational registry metamodel and framework referenced by this TR.
- Other parts of ISO/IEC TR 20943 (Parts 1, 3 and 6) which address data elements, value domains and ontology generation for registry consistency.
Keywords: ISO/IEC TR 20943-5:2013, metadata mapping, metadata registry, metadata crosswalk, ISO/IEC 11179, data element concept mapping, conceptual domain mapping, value domain mapping, metadata interoperability.