Keywords

Terms used to classify content on MMI site.

People-oriented information exchanges happening during a particular time interval [events for computers (e.g., data publication) are explicitly excluded].

Meeting

Talk/Presentation

Telecon/Videocon/Webcast

Products used to accomplish metadata-related tasks.

Standalone Application

Development Environment

Stand-alone materials used to convey explanatory information [Guides is the general term in MMI, but conflicts with the narrow term Guide in this taxonomy].

Guide

Introduces specific topic at a high level; provides enough background orientation for non-domain expert, brief and jargon-free. Stand-alone material used to convey explanatory information.

Best Practices

Resource describing the best practices to follow in performing a task.

Tips and Tricks

Individual suggestions or shortcuts, usually presented concisely, that make performing a task simpler or more effective,

Tutorial

Specific training on a topic; provides a broader introduction than an Overview or Case Study, covering concepts in more detail; includes examples and references; may be tailored for a specific audience, typically containing more detail than a Review; may prepare a user to use a Cookbook.

Exercise

Description of tasks that can be performed experimentally to gain insight

Presentation

Interactive delivery of information on a topic.

Review

A stand-alone discussion of the existing state-of-the-art in an area, accessible to others outside domain; evaluates accomplishments, resources, future goals; broader scope than Overview or Tutorial; author may express opinion on value of various approaches.

Expert Review

A comprehensive Review that bears the approval of the publishing organization.

User Experience

Subjective narrative (one person’s experience) of a path through a process.

User Review

Comments, feedback, or information that address some or all of the points of a Review, but requiring no formal structure and bearing no 'stamp of authority'.

Plan/Strategy

Case Study

Describes a specific technical project, providing clear insight for an outsider, including requirements, critical decisions made, assumptions, pitfalls, available tools and data products, re-usability for other projects.

Cookbook

Provides complete step-by-step instruction for a task, including examples and links to further resources in highly structured format.

Reference

Pointer to another source of information (link to additional documents), providing context and additional information.

Compilation

collection of references or other information assets

FAQ

Function/Behavior

actions that are performed by other entities; originally created for classifying tools, but could be used in other contexts

Describe/Document

[note Identify also means Query/Discover]

[note Identify also means Describe/Document]

[note these very common verbs are also nouns]

[note Interface is also a noun when used in Interface Specification]

Create

Dereference

[probably won't be needed any time soon…]

Edit/Transform

Parse/Format

[too many levels, but we need the terms in the taxonomy]

Harmonize

Inspect/Compare

Specification

document explicitly constraining or declaring other entitities, typically (but not always) in a normative language

Source Code

[obscure but appropriate entry]

System Specification

Transport Protocol

XML Schema

XML Transformation Schema

Content Standard

[Content Standard is more narrow than Content Specification, but is more commonly used.]

Profile

[useful for searching?]

Extension

[useful for searching?]

Data Format Specification

Feature Type Classification

characterization of digital data types; e.g., the Marine Data Model

Interface Specification

Vocabulary

A set of terms (e.g., words) that are used in a specific community.

Multilevel Vocabulary

A managed list of metadata terms, where the terms are organized into categories.

Subject Heading

A type of multi-level controlled vocabulary in which metadata values are classified into categories which may be broad classes.

Taxonomy

A multi-level controlled vocabulary in which metadata terms are grouped according to subject-specific classes, usually hierarchical.

Relational Vocabulary

Managed list of acceptable terms that makes use of relationships between metadata terms. All relational vocabularies are implicitly multi-level.

Ontology

A type of relational controlled vocabulary, which provides for categories, relationships, rules and axioms among metadata elements. Typically a hierarchy of classes and terms, an ontology is a machine-readable way of relating metadata terminology.

Semantic Network

A type of relational controlled vocabulary consisting of lists of terms/concepts and directed relationships.

Thesaurus

A type of relational controlled vocabulary which provides a list of terms, with specific relationships between the terms.

Flat Vocabulary

A managed list of acceptable metadata terms that associates acceptable values with particular metadata elements.

Glossary

A type of flat controlled vocabulary containing a list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms.

Authority File

A type of flat controlled vocabulary that consists of a list of labels and terms which can be used for establishing the acceptable content, for example a metadata element or database field.

Code List

A type of flat controlled vocabulary consisting of a set of codes and their meanings, in use in a specific project.

Gazetteer

A very specific type of flat controlled vocabulary - a geographic term list.

Dictionary

In the context of metadata, provides a list of metadata terms, definitions and additional information within a specific domain.

(Other Describable Domains)

administrative grouping of subject-matter terms; dictionary definitions unless otherwise specified [everything is describable]

Organization

federation of individuals or groups, nominally for a common purpose, implicitly of extended (indeterminate) duration [is there a need for types of organizations? Standards bodies, community-centered, institutes, educational, …? ]

Endorsement Body

group formally asserting fitness for use (typically, within the parent organization) of selected existing specifications

Standards Body

Collaboration

self-organized collection of individuals working by common (often informal) agreement

Community Practices Body

group establishing community agreements

Evaluation/Reference Body

group characterizing and compiling specifications or information, but not formally establishing its fitness for use

Parameter/Phenomenon

some event or characteristic that can be observed

Person

Placename

any named entity with a physical presence

Physical Feature

Political Entity

Platform

Research platform: ship, mooring, sensor, remote-controlled vehicle, autonomous vehicle.

Process/Workflow

procedure(s) or action(s) that changes one or more entities into another form or entity

Project/Initiative

a planned undertaking supporting specific goals

Provenance

Quality Assurance

process of assuring quality [uh, really]

Quality Control

includes components and information

Science Discipline

[evaluate against GCMD, AGU (use GCMD by reference?); oceanographic?, specified for items that are limited to the specific discipline(s) ]

Marine Geology and Geophysics

Meteorological Oceanography

Physical Oceanography

Biological Oceanography

Chemical Oceanography

Interdisciplinary Oceanography

Species

fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding [note we are not addressing molecular species]

Standards Process

procedure for developing a specification (or Standard)

Uniform Resource Identifier

Term used by the W3C consortium for labels used for web content. URIs include both Uniform Resource Locators (example: http://subdomain.domain/name1/name2...) and Uniform Resource Names (example: urn:domain:subdomain:name1:name2...).

Uniform Resource Locator

Uniform Resource Name

Unique Identifier

alphanumeric expression that references a single entity

Cruise

science or engineering activity over a specific time frame, typically determined by physical transitions of platforms [synonyms are listed because these terms are defined in overlapping/conflicting ways by different organizations]

Date/Time

related to chronology

Earth Realm

[include top realms from SWEET, or use by reference?]

Device

a physical entity that performs a function [Data Source is not covered anywhere (to include software), but hopefully not needed, was Device/Sensor]

Sampler

a piece of equipment that can take and hold a physical object, or a part of a physical object

Sensor

[Analyzer could go at multiple places in the hierarchy]

Errors/Flags

indications of problems or assertions about data entries; typically embodied as codes

Habitat

type of environment in which an organism or group normally lives or occurs

Location (Coordinate)

geographic location expressed with values

Abstract Characteristics

broad ideas used to characterize objects and their application [think about how these will be useful, if you use them for tagging (e.g., there's lots of geospatial or semantic stuff we aren't tagging)]

Parameter Discovery

used primarily to find content; typically broadly classifies or characterizes information content

Parameter Usage/Markup

used primarily to specify content in detail

Semantic

of or relating to meaning or the study of meaning

Geospatial

having to do with entities or events that can be described in a geographic fashion

Integrated

working or organized together as a whole

Interoperability

Collaborative Media

computer-based technologies enabling multiple individuals to work together

Content Standard Crosswalk

Instantiation

an occurrence or application of a class of object [as opposed to 'instantiate' (synonym of create)]

Realization/Execution

one individual occurrence following a specification [e.g., a Realization of a Content Standard is someone's metadata file; note that Application can also mean software application]

Template

an item with the format of an object instance, but used to generate other instances

Fragment/Excerpt

a part of a whole object or class of object

Example/Instance

a particular case of a class of object (may be a specification) [e.g., an Instance of a Content Standard is CSDGM]

System

group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole

Observing System/Observatory

System designed as a whole to observe real-world events

Repository

System where information can be stored (and nominally retrieved); contrast with Registry

Semantic Web

evolving extension of the World Wide Web in which web content can be expressed not only in natural language, but also in a form that can be understood, interpreted and used by software agents, thus permitting them to find, share and integrate information more easily

System of Systems

System in which multiple other diverse, quasi-independent Systems interact

Testbed/Prototype

System which demonstrates capabilities without being a completely implemented solution

Catalog/Registry

System containing references to and metadata about other content; contrast with Repository

Data System

Distributed Media

formats used to deliver information. Note these are about format and context, not semantic content (e.g., plan would not fit here); also note these are 1-way protocols; cross-check against other taxonomies.

Regularly or irregularly distributed document containing information of interest to a particular community.

Image

Interactive Resource

[Presentation? (see Guides)]