Glossary (Flat Vocabulary)
| Flat VocabulariesA managed list of acceptable metadata terms that associates acceptable values with particular metadata elements. Flat vocabularies include authority files, glossaries, dictionaries, code lists, and gazetteers. Related Guide | Multi -Level Vocabularies | Relational VocabulariesManaged list of acceptable terms that makes use of relationships between metadata terms. Relational vocabularies include thesauri, semantic networks and ontologies. Related Guide | |||||||
| Authority File | Glossary | Dictionary | Gazetteer | Code List | Taxonomy | Subject Heading | Thesaurus | Semantic Network | Ontology |
Definition of a Glossary
A type of flat controlled vocabularyA managed list of terms. In the context of vocabularies, management typically includes careful selection of terms, maintenance of terms over time (i.e. addition, deprecation, modification), and presentation of the vocabulary in an accessible format. Related Guide containing a list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms.
Discussion
A glossary builds upon an authority file. For each value, a glossary provides users with a description. At this point, the vocabulary is a triplet - labelA descriptor for a metadata value. This can be thought of as a question to which the value is providing an answer. For example, for the metadata label "date", the metadata value could be "March 16, 2008"., term, description. Notice, this already adds functionality for system users, because the abstract terminology becomes more concrete. Glossaries help to articulate exactly what particular valuesMetadata values are the content connected to metadata labels in a metadata element. For example, if the metadata label is "date", the metadata value could be "May 13, 2007". Related Guide mean.
Example - SIO/GDC Vocabulary Terms
"DCMIDublin Core Metadata Initiative _Format","Dataset","General Digital Data set"
"DCMI_Format","Image","Photographic resource, such as a jpg or tiff"
"DCMI_Format","InteractiveResource","Enhanced data set, which allows for user input"
"DCMI_Format","PhysicalObject","Physical sample, paper document, or digital media"
"DCMI_Format","Software","Software code"
"DCMI_Format","Sound","Acoustic Recording, such as an audio tape or file"
"DCMI_Format","Text","General textual resource, such as Word, ASCIIAmerican Standard Code for Information Interchange , or Acrobat "
In this example, the vocabulary builds upon the DCMI authority file. In this glossary, the parameterIndividual instance of a metadata label and value pair. For example, "creator: John Doe" is a metadata element. Related Guide is DCMI_Format, which correlates with the Dublin Core Type. The SIO/GDC Vocabulary Terms use a subset of the complete DCMI list, and formats them as a comma-separated-value (CSVComma Separated Value) text file. Notice the glossary is a very useful tool because it clearly articulates what each term actually means. This helps to eliminate incorrect implementation, and facilitates understanding for users.