Date Issued: | 2003-08-26 |
---|---|
Identifier: | http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2003-08-26/qualifiers/ |
Replaces: | Not Applicable |
Is Replaced By: | http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/2005-05-26/qualifiers/ |
Latest version: | http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/usageguide/ |
Translations: | http://dublincore.org/resources/translations/ |
Status of document: | DCMI Recommended Resource |
Description of document: | This document describes the principles governing Dublin Core™ qualifiers, the two categories of qualifiers, and lists instances of qualifiers approved by the Dublin Core™ Usage Committee as well as guidance for their use. |
DCMES Element | Element Refinement(s) | Element Encoding Scheme(s) |
---|---|---|
Title | Alternative | - |
Creator | - | - |
Subject | - |
LCSH MeSH DDC LCC UDC |
Description |
Table Of Contents Abstract |
- |
Publisher | - | - |
Contributor | - | - |
Date |
Created Valid Available Issued Modified Date Copyrighted Date Submitted |
DCMI Period W3C-DTF |
Type | - | DCMI Type Vocabulary |
Format | - | IMT |
Extent | - | |
Medium | - | |
Identifier | - | URI |
Bibliographic Citation | - | |
Source | - | URI |
Language | - | ISO 639-2RFC 3066 |
Relation |
Is Version Of Has Version Is Replaced By Replaces Is Required By Requires Is Part Of Has Part Is Referenced By References Is Format Of Has Format Conforms To |
URI |
Coverage | Spatial |
DCMI Point ISO 3166 DCMI Box TGN |
Temporal |
DCMI Period W3C-DTF |
|
Rights | Access Rights | - |
Audience |
Mediator Education Level |
- |
Dublin Core™ qualifiers have the following properties:
For the up-to-date specification of all metadata terms maintained by the Dublin Core™ Metadata Initiative, including elements, element refinements, encoding schemes, and vocabulary terms (the DCMI Type Vocabulary), see http://dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/dcmi-terms/. In the listing below, the Name and Label attributes are the same as in the specification, but the Definition and Comment appear together as "Term Description", and guidance and examples are added.
Dublin Core™ qualifiers will be expressed in languages other than English. A single invariant token assigned to each qualifier -- the Name property -- stands for a given qualifier concept irrespective of the language in which it is defined. This token can be incorporated into a URI to form a unique identifier for the qualifier. All other properties of a qualifier (Label, Definition, Comment, and aspects of See Also as appropriate) can be translated from English into any other language.
All other properties of Dublin Core™ entities (Label, Definition, Comment, and aspects of See Also as appropriate) will be expressed in the language and character set of the translation.
These element refinement terms are extensions to the "Simple Dublin Core™" 15 elements or to the additional element term Audience.
Alternative
Label: Alternative
Term description: Any form of the title used as a substitute or alternative to the formal title of the resource. This qualifier can include Title abbreviations as well as translations.
Guidelines for creation of content:
An alternative title can be used to provide access to secondary titles, but should only be used when a value is present in the Title element.
Examples:
Alternative="AMA newsletter" (Title="American Meteorological Association newsletter")
Alternative="Ocho semanas" (Title="Eight weeks")Refinement(s) for element: Description
tableOfContents
Label: Table of Contents
Term description: A list of subunits of the content of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
When a description of a resource consists of a list of the contents, whether from a menu or other mechanism, tableOfContents can be used to differentiate this list from descriptive text that is written in sentence form. This allows more options for display and indexing.
Examples:
tableOfContents="Introduction; Vertebrates; Invertebrates; Molluscs"
Abstract
Label: Abstract
Term description: A summary of the content of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Used when a description of a resource consists of a formal abstract. For implementations where formal abstracts are preferred, using the specific term allows the label to better reflect the level of the description.
Examples:
Abstract="This article describes the work of the IFB Chaos Committee, including a summary of its major findings."
Refinement(s) for element: Date
Date refinements are generally useful in situations where more than one date is needed, and the difference between the dates may be important to users. Note that the first five Date refinement terms were among the earlier ones approved by DCMI, and the naming convention of the time was not to include "date" as part of the refined term. The most recent ones reflect changes in the naming convention used, in which the name of the refined term expresses more clearly the relationship to the parent element.
Created
Label: Created
Term description: Date of creation of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
If the date of creation of the resource is known, and that date is important to note specifically (e.g., there are other relevant dates to record), use the term Created for the creation date of the resource. Note that the "one-to-one" rule requires that the creation date be that of the resource being described, not any early version from which the current resource is derived.
Valid
Label: Valid
Term description: Date (often a range) of validity of a resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
If the resource is only valid or relevant for a particular date or range of dates, the term Valid may be used to express those dates. This may be particularly important if the resource will be retained over time but its use is valid only during a particular period or until a particular date.
Available
Label: Available
Term description: Date (often a range) that the resource will become or did become available.
Guidelines for creation of content:
In general, the term Available should be used in the case of a resource for which the date of availability may be distinct from the date of creation, and the date of availability is relevant to the use of the resource.
Issued
Label: Issued
Term description: Date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
The term Issued should be applied when a formal date of issuance or publication is relevant to the resource, and is distinct from other dates that may be used with the resource.
Modified
Label: Modified
Term description: Date on which the resource was changed.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Modified dates may be used to record either all instances of modification or only the latest. When only one modified date is recorded, it is assumed to be the latest.
dateAccepted
Label: Date Accepted
Term description: Date of acceptance of the resource (e.g. of thesis by university department, of article by journal, etc.).
Guidelines for creation of content:
If, in the lifecycle of a resource, the date of acceptance by a formal body or entity is relevant to the use of the resource, dateAccepted may be used.
dateSubmitted
Label: Date Submitted
Term description: Date of submission of the resource (e.g. thesis, articles, etc.).
Guidelines for creation of content:
If, in the lifecycle of a resource, the date of submission to a body or entity is relevant to the use of the resource, dateSubmitted may be used.
Extent
Label: Extent
Term description: The size or duration of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Because the refinement Extent is used in a variety of situations, it generally consists of both a numeric value and a caption that is needed to interpret the numeric value. Best practice is to separate the numeric value and the caption with a space, whether the caption appears before or after the value.
Examples:
Medium
Label: Medium
Term description: The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Medium is generally used when the resource is of a physical nature, for instance a painting or model, where the physical carrier or material used is relevant to the user. For instance, if the resource is a movie on DVD, and is only available as a physical object, it should be described as such. If it is available digitally, its format would be reflected in the Format element.
Examples:
Medium="cotton fabric with sequins"
Medium="bronze on wooden pedestal"
Medium="oil on wood"Refinement(s) for element: Relation
Most of the refinements of Relation are expressed as "reciprocals" and may be used to link resources in two directions, though this is not required. Implementors need not describe both or all resources involved in a reciprocal relationship to express the relationship--in other words, they may describe a later version and relate it to the earlier without having the need or opportunity to describe the earlier, and vice versa. In some of the relationships below, maintaining reciprocality is more important. In others, one direction of the relationship is more relevant that the other. These differences will be mentioned in the guidelines for specific terms.
In All cases, either a string or a URI may be used as a value. If a URI is used, the scheme should be designated.
Examples for Relation refinements can be found with the Relation element. When using Relation refinements, do not use embedded text labels, as the examples illustrate.
isVersionOf
Label: Is Version Of
Term description: The described resource is a version, edition, or adaptation of the referenced resource. Changes in version imply substantive changes in content rather than differences in format.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Use only in cases where the relationship expressed is at the content level. Relationships need not be close for the relationship to be relevant. "West Side Story" is a version of "Romeo and Juliet" and that may be important enough in the context of the resource description to be expressed using isVersionOf. The Broadway Show and the movie of "West Side Story" also relate at a similar level, but the video and DVD of the movie are more usefully expressed at the level of format, the content being essentially the same.
See also isFormatOf.
hasVersion
Label: Has Version
Term description: The described resource is a version, edition, or adaptation of the referenced resource. Changes in version imply substantive changes in content rather than differences in format.
Guidelines for creation of content:
See isVersionOf for basic guidelines.
isReplacedBy
Label: Is Replaced By
Term description: The described resource is supplanted, displaced, or superseded by the referenced resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
When establishing a chain of versions, where only one version is valid, the use of isReplacedBy and Replaces allows the relationship to be expressed and the user directed to the appropriate version. In this case, the reciprocal relationships are quite important.
Replaces
Label: Replaces
Term description: The described resource supplants, displaces, or supersedes the referenced resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
See isReplacedBy for basic guidelines.
isRequiredBy
Label: Is Required By
Term description: The described resource is required by the referenced resource, either physically or logically.
Guidelines for creation of content:
In the case of IsRequiredBy and Requires, there is a clearer need to express the Requires relationship than the IsRequiredBy, though both can be useful. This relationship is most often seen in relationships between software and documents or applications and hardware and/or software requirements.
Requires
Label: Requires
Term description: The described resource requires the referenced resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence of content.
Guidelines for creation of content:
See isRequiredBy for basic guidelines.
isPartOf
Label: Is Part Of
Term description: The described resource is a physical or logical part of the referenced resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
The isPartOf and hasPart relationships are essentially "parent/child" relationships--hierarchical in nature. With them can be expressed both one-to-one and one-to-many types of relationships.
hasPart
Label: Has Part
Term description: The described resource includes the referenced resource either physically or logically.
Guidelines for creation of content:
See isPartOf for basic guidelines.
isReferencedBy
Label: Is Referenced By
Term description: The described resource is referenced, cited, or otherwise pointed to by the referenced resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
The isReferencedBy and References refinements enable the expression of relationships that aid the user but are not necessary tied to the lifecycle or necessary for the intended use of the resource. This relationship might be used to link an article critical of a resource to that resource, a satire of a speech to the original speech, etc.
References
Label: References
Term description: The described resource references, cites, or otherwise points to the referenced resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
See isReferencedBy for basic guidelines.
isFormatOf
Label: Is Format Of
Term description: The described resource is the same intellectual content of the referenced resource, but presented in another format.
Guidelines for creation of content:
This relationship is explicitly for the expression of relationships between resources for which format is the primary variable. Because Dublin Core™ maintains the principle of "one-to-one," each resource is expected to have its own description.
See also isVersionOf.
hasFormat
Label: Has Format
Term description: The described resource pre-existed the referenced resource, which is essentially the same intellectual content presented in another format.
Guidelines for creation of content:
See isFormatOf for basic guidelines.
conformsTo
Label: Conforms To
Term description: A reference to an established standard to which the resource conforms.
Guidelines for creation of content:
The standards referenced might be educational standards, accessibility standards, or any other established standard that is relevant to the use of the resource.
Spatial
Label: Spatial
Term description: Spatial characteristics of the intellectual content of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Spatial characteristics may include geographic names, latitude/longitude, or other established georeferenced values. Clearly, this refinement does not allow complex or sophisticated georeferencing, but attention to standard schemes and controlled vocabularies should provide useful results. Controlled vocabulary terms can be drawn from recommended vocabularies, or standard labelling within the value can provide useful assistance to users and applications. For additional information on encoding spatial information see the DCMI Box Encoding Scheme and the DCMI Point Encoding Scheme.
Examples:
Spatial="Chicago, Ill."
Spatial="Lat: 44 00 00 S Long: 068 00 00 W Name:Patagonia"
Spatial="Upstate New York"
Temporal
Label: Temporal
Term description: Temporal characteristics of the intellectual content of the resource.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Temporal characteristics include those aspects of time that relate to the intellectual content of a resource and not its lifecycle. Examples might include a resource describing some aspect of the 19th century but itself created this year. In that case, the Temporal Coverage would be the 19th century, and the Date (or Date Created) would be 2003. Values can be text strings or encoded values. Specific suggestions for encoding Temporal characteristics may be found in the DCMI Period Encoding Scheme.
Examples:
Temporal="Jurassic Period"
Temporal="1922-1978"
Temporal="Twentieth Century"Refinement(s) for element: Audience
Mediator
Label: Mediator
Term description: A class of entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. The audiences for a resource are of two basic classes: (1) an ultimate beneficiary of the resource, and (2) frequently, an entity that mediates access to the resource. The mediator element refinement represents the second of these two classes.
Guidelines for creation of content:
In an educational setting, a teacher might be designated the Mediator for a resource intended for use by a teacher in a classroom of students of a particular level or sharing other similar characteristics. Resources intended to be used directly by those same students would not include a Mediator. Mediators may be expressed in more or less specific terms, depending on the needs of the implementation. Controlled vocabularies can be useful in distinguishing Mediators.
Examples:
educationLevel
Label: Education Level
Term description: A general statement describing the education or training context. Alternatively, a more specific statement of the location of the audience in terms of its progression through an education or training context.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Commonly, this term would be used for a grade level for materials intended for an educational setting. Although no specific controlled vocabulary has been recommended for use with educationLevel, consistent use of terminology or reliance on an available controlled vocabulary enables more consistent results.
Examples:
educationLevel="elementary school students"
educationLevel="4th-5th grade"
educationLevel="secondary science"Refinement(s) for element: Rights
accessRights
Label: Access Rights
Term description: Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security or other regulations.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Access rights is intended to allow the characterization of restrictions to view, search or use resources, based on attributes of the resource itself or the class or category of user. An example would be a resource that was restricted to users holding a particular security clearance, or one that required login or authentication at a particular website.
Examples:
accessRights="Available to subscribers only."
accessRights="Viewable by Medium security cleared staff only."Refinement(s) for element: Identifier
bibliographicCitation
Label: Bibliographic Citation
Term description: A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible, whether or not the citation is in a standard form.
Guidelines for creation of content:
Because this term is not describing a relationship to another resource, it should be limited to citations to the resource described in the remainder of the record. For instance, if the resource is an article for a journal, it is appropriate to include very specific information about the article, even page references, if such information is used to cite the article in a standard format for reference by other resources, even if the article being described is in a digital format.
Examples:
bibliographicCitation="ESOP, v.2, no. 1, Apr. 2003, p. 5-8"
bibliographicCitation="Nature, v.87, p. 200"