Metadata describe the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of data.
Metadata help a person to locate and understand data. Metadata include information needed to determine the sets of data that exist for a geographic location, information needed to determine if a set of data meets a specific need, information needed to acquire an identified set of data, and information needed to process and use a set of data. The exact order in which data elements are evaluated, and the relative importance of data elements, will not be the same for all users. The objectives of the standard are to provide a common set of terminology and definitions for the documentation of digital geospatial data. These roles form a continuum in which a user cascades through a pyramid of choices to determine what data are available, to evaluate the fitness of the data for use, to access the data, and to transfer and process the data.