Are descriptive metadata archived together with the research data? What should these metadata contain?

Short Answer

Yes, GFBio asks for a minimum set of descriptive information during data submission to ensure the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of the archived data (FAIR data principles).

Detailed Answer

Metadata should contain basic structured information about your data so that others can understand and use your data without further information. You should always make sure to answer the following questions: Who collected the data, what kind of data were collected, where, when, how, and why were they collected? Our data curators will help and assist you to get your metadata transferred into a respective metadata standard.