Study on the Use of Data Island Method for Creating Metadata Records with Indexability and Visibility of Element Tag Names in the Web Search Engines Environment: the Improvement of Access to Content Objects

The aim of this research was to examine the use of data island method for creating metadata records based on DCXML, MARCXML, and MARC21with indexability and visibility of element tag names in the Web search engines environment. 600 metadata records were developed in two groups (300 XML-based records as the control group with the normal structure, and 300 HTML-based records in an experimental group with special structure embedded in the tag of HTML based on the data island strategy). These records were analyzed through an experimental approach. The records of these two groups were published on two independent websites and were introduced to Google and Yahoo! search engines for indexing. Findings show that all the element tag names of the metadata records created based on the data island method relating to the experimental group indexed by Google and Yahoo! were visible in the search results. But the element tag names in the control group’s metadata records were not indexed by the search engines. Based on this study, it is possible to retrieve the metadata records by their element tag name in search engines. But the records of the control group are accessible by the element values only. The research suggests some patterns to metadata creators and end users.