AUTHOR=Grewe Jan , Wachtler Thomas , Benda Jan 

TITLE=A Bottom-up Approach to Data Annotation in Neurophysiology

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroinformatics

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2011

YEAR=2011

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroinformatics/articles/10.3389/fninf.2011.00016

DOI=10.3389/fninf.2011.00016

ISSN=1662-5196

ABSTRACT=Metadata providing information about the stimulus, data acquisition, and experimental
conditions are indispensable for the analysis and management of experimental data within
a lab. However, only rarely are metadata available in a structured, comprehensive, and
machine-readable form. This poses a severe problem for finding and retrieving data, both
in the laboratory and on the various emerging public data bases. Here, we propose a simple
format, the ”Open metaData Markup Language” (od ML), for collecting and exchanging
metadata in an automated, computer-based fashion. In od ML arbitrary metadata informa-
tion is stored as extended key-value pairs in a hierarchical structure. Central to od ML is
a clear separation of format and content, i.e. neither keys nor values are defined by the
format. This makes od ML flexible enough for storing all available metadata instantly with-
out the necessity to submit new keys to an ontology or controlled terminology. Common
standard keys can be defined in od ML terminologies for guaranteeing interoperability. We
started to define such terminologies for neurophysiological data, but aim at a community
driven extension and refinement of the proposed definitions. By customized terminologies
that map to these standard terminologies, metadata can be named and organized as required
or preferred without softening the standard. Together with the respective libraries provided
for common programming languages, the od ML format can be integrated into the labora-
tory workflow, facilitating automated collection of metadata information where it becomes
available. The flexibility of od ML also encourages a community driven collection and
definition of terms used for annotating data in the neurosciences.