Evolution of Metadata in Oral History: Applications and Tools

The importance of describing the metadata of oral history sources, based on the evolutionary cycle of oral history, to facilitate information retrieval and analysis of data from interviews based on this research method.

The need to create metadata in oral history and types of metadata in this field was explained referring to library resources and metadata tools and standards were explained.

The growing use of technologies to analyze interviews and recognize historical facts has necessitated the creation of metadata for these resources. Structured and machine-readable metadata in oral history, while facilitating data access, improve the management of oral history collections. Metadata description of oral history resources is conducted before and beginning the interview until the resources are uploaded on the web pages. Formed metadata in accordance with the developmental cycle of oral history provides researchers with the necessary tools to analyze the content of interviews. The extent to which the types of oral history metadata are used varies according to the components of the oral history development cycle. It is necessary for oral historians to be directed more toward the use of tools and standards for creating metadata.