Theoretical Considerations of Lifecycle Modeling: An Analysis of the Dryad Repository Demonstrating Automatic Metadata Propagation, Inheritance, and Value System Adoption

The Dryad repository is for data supporting published research in the field of evolutionary biology and related disciplines. Dryad development team members seek a theoretical framework to aid communication about metadata issues and plans. This article explores lifecycle modeling as a theoretical framework for understanding metadata in the repository environment. A background discussion reviews the importance of theory, the status of a metadata theory, and lifecycle concepts. An analysis draws examples from the Dryad repository demonstrating automatic propagation,metadata inheritance, and value system adoption, and reports results from a faceted term mapping experiment that included 12 vocabularies and approximately 600 terms. The article also reports selected key findings from a recent survey on the data-sharing attitudes and behaviors of nearly 400 evolutionary biologists. The results confirm the applicability of lifecycle modeling to Dryad’s metadata infrastructure. The article concludes that lifecycle modeling provides a theoretical framework that can enhance our understanding of metadata, aid communication about the topic of metadata in the repositoryenvironment, and potentially help sustain robust repository development.