| The research presented in this dissertation involves the establishment of content standards for geospatial metadata by national level governments and international organizations, and how these differing standards impact international spatial data sharing. The discussion is focused on the process involved in developing such a standard, the derivation of an international content standard for geospatial metadata, and the use of these standards to facilitate international spatial data sharing.; A literature search was performed in order to understand metadata content, to discover the current status of content standards for geospatial. metadata in several countries, and to determine the types of sharing that occur with spatial data. The literature review indicates that there is a desire for an international content standard for geospatial metadata in order to facilitate international spatial data sharing. The many challenges to the development of such standards were identified during the review of the literature in the aforementioned subject areas.; A questionnaire was sent to forty-one national-level government agencies and international organizations that are directly responsible for spatial standards development, land records, surveying, and mapping activities, or centers for geographic information. The responses to the questions provided significant insight into the current status of metadata content standards development in the world. A review of the current metadata content standards in the world is presented.; Additionally, a criterion for evaluation of geospatial metadata, content standards is presented, and each of the current metadata content standards is analyzed according to the criterion. A taxonomy of geospatial metadata content standards has been derived from these analyses. An international content standard for geospatial metadata, which will overcome institutional and cultural barriers, is proposed. The impacts of varying data standards upon international spatial data sharing are assessed.; The specific objectives of this research are to facilitate international spatial data sharing efforts through proposing an international content standard for geospatial metadata and to identify a taxonomy of geospatial metadata content standards. |
