metadata4ing

Metadata4ING (m4i) Ontology
Metadata4ING allows to describe research processes and their results in a semantic and machine actionable way. The mid level ontology provides a framework for the semantic description of the whole data generation process, including the object of investigation, the methods and tools with their configurations, the data files themselves, and the roles of persons and institutions. Therefore, Metadata4ING builds a basis and a common language for individual metadata profiles for the engineering domain.

Details & Specifications
Metadata4ING helps to fulfil the FAIR data principles by describing the provenance and the content of (engineering) data and software. The ontology includes all relevant concepts needed to find, understand and reuse data: The object of research with the observed properties, the methods and tools used in the process with their configuration parameters, participating persons and institutions and relations to publications.

Main concepts of the process view

By flexibly linking so-called processing steps as the main building blocks, processes can be modelled to any level of detail.

But also datasets and their contents can be described.

Dataset view

Metadata4ING terms can be used in several ways. The ontology builds the interoperable basis for individual metadata profiles that can be created with NFDI4ING’s Metadata Profile Service and used in Coscine and Kadi4Mat. A JSON-LD context file allows to create human and machine readable JSON based metadata files, that can easily be created in file systems and incorporated in research objects like RO-Crates. Metadata4ING also provides a guide that helps with the first steps to create a m4i based metadata file. All the terms of m4i are also available over the NFDI4ING Terminology Service to be used to describe data or software sets in data repositories.

Metadata4ING builds on top level ontologies (BFO, schema.org, PROV) and incorporates concepts from existing terminologies (Croissant, SI, DCAT, CodeMeta, …) and integrates with terminologies and databases within the NFDI (MathModDB). The ontology is actively developed and mapped against emerging standards within and outside of the NFDI.

Terms of use & restrictions
Metadata4ING is available in different formats, is published under CC BY and can be used by everyone to describe their data or software.

Contact
You can reach the Metadata4ING Working Group via metadata4ing@nfdi4ing.de. 

If you have access to the NFDI Rocket.Chat instance, you can also connect using the chat channel: https://all-chat.nfdi.de/group/metadata4ing-team.

For general questions feel free to contact our helpdesk!

References
Publications referencing and/or describing the m4i ontology:

  • Engel, F., Fuhrmanns, M., Iglezakis, D., Kraft, A., & Politze, M. (2025, August 4). Advancing Interoperability in Engineering Sciences with a Common Information Model. 2nd Conference on Research Data Infrastructure (CoRDI), Aachen, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16735812
  • Iglezakis, Dorothea; Terzijska, Džulia; Arndt, Susanne; Leimer, Sophia; Hickmann, Johanna; Fuhrmans, Marc; Lanza, Giacomo (2023). Modelling Scientific Processes With the m4i Ontology. Proceedings of the Conference on Research Data Infrastructure, 1. https://doi.org/10.52825/cordi.v1i.271
  • Preuß, Nils; Bodenbenner, Matthias, Heinrichs, Benedikt; Windeck, Jürgen; Moser, Mario; Fuhrmans, Marc (2023). Creating application-specific metadata profiles while improving interoperability and consistency of research data for the engineering sciences. Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt. https://doi.org/10.26083/tuprints-00024573
  • Horsch, Martin Thomas (2021). Mereosemiotics: Five scenarios (first revised version). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4846313
  • Fuhrmans, Marc; Iglezakis, Dorothea (2020). Metadata4Ing: Ansatz zur Modellierung interoperabler Metadaten für die Ingenieurwissenschaften. Interoperabilität von Metadaten innerhalb der NFDI – Konsortienübergreifender Metadaten-Workshop. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3982367
  • Hutzschenreuter, Daniel et al (2020). SmartCom Digital System of Units (D-SI): Guide for the use of the metadata-format used in metrology for the easy-to-use, safe, harmonised and unambiguous digital transfer of metrological data – Second Edition (D-SI 1.3.0-2). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3816686

Miscellaneous and further reading:
Git-Repo: https://git.rwth-aachen.de/nfdi4ing/metadata4ing/metadata4ing
Zenodo-Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5957103
Documentation: https://metadata4ing.org
Context-File: https://w3id.org/nfdi4ing/metadata4ing/m4i_context.jsonld
First-Steps-Guide:https://git.rwth-aachen.de/nfdi4ing/metadata4ing/metadata4ing/-/blob/master/training/first-steps-guide.md