Solution

Descriptive metadata provides information that gives context and detailed insights into the contents, structure, and purpose of data. In this question, a summary of a dataset’s content, purpose, and variable descriptions captures what descriptive metadata is all about. It allows users to understand at a high level what data is about, which enhances data accessibility and usability. Descriptive metadata is essential for analysts to locate, understand, and interpret data without delving into the raw data itself, making it easier to assess data relevance and quality before beginning analysis. The other options are incorrect because: • Option 1 (User access levels) is administrative metadata, focused on data security and access control. • Option 2 (File timestamps) is technical metadata related to data provenance. • Option 3 (XML tag structure) describes the format but doesn’t provide descriptive details about the data content. • Option 5 (Data type definitions) is structural metadata, outlining the data types rather than content details.