Keywords

Terms used to classify content on MMI site.
Event

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

Tool

products used to accomplish metadata-related tasks

Guidance Documents

stand-alone material used to convey explanatory information

[Guides is the general term in MMI, but conflicts with the narrow term Guide in this taxonomy]

Tutorial

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

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

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, include 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

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,

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]

Query/Discover

[note Identify also means Describe/Document]

Register/Catalog

[note these very common verbs are also nouns]

Connect

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

Dereference

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

Parse/Format

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

Specification

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

Source Code

[obscure but appropriate entry]

Content Standard

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

Profile

[useful for searching?]

Extension

[useful for searching?]

Feature Type Classification

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

Vocabulary

all Vocabulary terms are as defined in Guides
[a vocabulary is a specification, isn't it?]

(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

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

Placename

any named entity with a physical presence

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

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) ]

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...).

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

Collaborative Media

computer-based technologies enabling multiple individuals to work together

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

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 these are 1-way protocols; cross-check against other taxonomies]

Message/Data Packet

[included for completeness]

Newspaper/Magazine

general audience periodic publication

Presentation

File presented with presentation software (e.g., Keynote, Powerpoint). (Refers to the artifact itself, not the event at which it is delivered.)

Vocabulary Box

Set of terms in physical form

Interactive Resource

[Presentation? (see Guides)]

Journal

trade audience periodic publication

Journal Issue

instance of a Journal

International

having a multi-national character

National

related to a single country (typically, to the whole country)

Generalization

related to the identification of common characteristics across instances

Abstraction

a derivation of common criteria from instances; a description, rather than a classification

Category

a classification based on identified criteria

MMI-Specific Tags

tags that have MMI-related meaning

Management Documents

types for MMI products

[typically not used to tag external documents]

Developer Documents

Material created during development of software systems.

Strategy

Description of the method(s) by which one or more goals will be achieved.

Annual Report

[annual NSF reports get tagged with Annual Report and Funding Agency Report]

Funding Agency Report

[annual NSF reports get tagged with Annual Report and Funding Agency Report]

MMI Attended

used for events MMI will attend

MMI Engaged

used for media, other projects MMI is involved with

MMI Generated

used for abstracts, documents, papers, etc. done by MMI

MMI Guides

Instructional material published on the MMI site by the MMI Guides Team

MMI Hosted

used for project references

MMI Led

used for project references

[was MMI Developed]

MMI Project

Related to the MMI project and its conduct.

MMI Referenced

used for project references (simply is those references that are not MMI Hosted or MMI Led)

[do not apply this to other external references]

MMI Targeted

used for media, other projects MMI wants to be involved with

Community News

for news items of general interest

IODE-JCOMM

identifying IODE-JCOMM references

[used for a specific purpose (JBG)]

Criteria

ways in which standards and other entities can be evaluated

Maturity Stage

whether an item is dominating in its field

Emerging

The item is actively being developed (in draft, under community review, discussed on mailing lists or forums, mentioned in abstracts, etc.), but has not been formally released.

Missing

The stage of maturity of the item cannot be determined

Declining

The item has less use than at its peak, and is either no longer maintained on a regular basis, or is routinely superceded by another emerging or existing standard in the community.

Retiring

The item is no longer being maintained, and is deprecated for public use.

Existing

The item is available for public use, has been released or widely adopted, and is sponsored or maintained.

Support Features

Methods available/provided to learn more about an item

Multimedia Help

Rich media like videos, Flash, or audio/visual presentations with additional information

Tool-Based Help

A capability within an application or service that provides a collection of additional information

Automated Help

Systems that provide automatically generated responses to requests for additional information

Chat Help

An internet relay (IRC) or other chat channel provided live responses

Contextual Help

A link to context-dependent help, e.g., definitions or explanations

Email Help

Ability to send electronic mail and receive additional information

Phone Help

Telephone number at which individuals provide additional information

Documentation Help

Independent distributed media that contains additional information

Forum Help

On-line bulletin board of user questions and responses

Live Training Help

Classes or similar live, interactive access to additional information

Usage Level

The largest entity that endorses use of the item.

Alliance Use

Adopted by a collaborative group of nations

Association Use

Adopted by a collaborative group of organizations

Nation Use

Adopted by a country or sovereign state, or principal agency thereof

Organization Use

Adopted by specific bodies of individuals (standards bodies, corporations, schools, etc.)

Individual/Project Use

Adopted by standalone users or projects

Maintainer Type

Adopted by a collaborative group of nations

Organization Maintained

Managed by a specific body of individuals (standards body, corporation, school, etc.)

Alliance Maintained

Managed by a collaborative group of nations

Association Maintained

Managed by a collaborative group of organizations

Nation Maintained

Managed by a country or sovereign state, or agency thereof

Individual/Project Maintained

Managed by a standalone user or project

Pending Reclassification

Terms used as keywords on plone whose mapping into Drupal taxonomy is not yet defined (and/or whose content may need to get different keywords).