User‐Centered evaluation of metadata schema for nonmovable cultural heritage: Murals and stone cave temples

Digitization provides a solution for documentation and preservation of nonmovable cultural heritages. Despite efforts for the preservation of cultural heritages around the world, no well‐accepted metadata schema has been developed for murals and stone cave temples, which are often high‐value heritages built in ancient times. In addition, the literature is scarce on the user‐centered evaluation of metadata schemas of this kind. This study therefore aims to offer insights on developing and evaluating a metadata schema for organizing information of these historic and complex cultural heritages. In‐depth interviews were conducted with a total of 30 users, including 18 professional and 12 public users, and interview transcripts were coded through a qualitative content analysis approach. Findings reveal the importance of specific metadata elements as perceived by the two groups of end users, which correlated with their cultural heritage information‐seeking behaviors. In addition, the issues of standardization of cataloging of cultural heritage information and interoperability among metadata schemas have been raised by users for enhancing the user experience with digital platforms of cultural heritage information. The coding schema developed in this study can serve as a framework for follow‐up evaluations of metadata schemas, contributing to the ongoing development of cultural heritage metadata.