Tommie Curtis SAIC January 17, 2000 Open Forum on Metadata Registries Santa Fe, NM SDC JE-2023

Identifying Attributes for a Data Element v Registration Authority Identifier v Data Identifier v Version Identifier v Name v Context

SDC JE-2023 Component Identifier v Registration Authority Identifier - the identifier of any organization authorized to register a data element v Data Identifier - the unique identifier of a data element assigned by a Registration Authority v Version Identifier - the identification of an issue of a data element

SDC JE-2023 Component Identifier Example 1. Registration Authority Identifier: Data Element Identifier: Version Identifier: =

SDC JE-2023 Rules for Registration Identification of Data 1. Each data element shall have a unique data identifier within a registry 2. The component identifier shall provide unique identification of data element information for transfer outside a registry 3. A data element shall have at least one name within a context

SDC JE-2023 Rules for Registration Identification of Data (cont.) 4. To be assigned a component identifier in accordance with ISO/IEC 11179, a data element shall be: u Derived according to Part 2 u Attributed according to Part 3 u Defined according to Part 4 u Named according to Part 5 u Registered according to Part 6

SDC JE-2023 Identifying Attributes for a Data Element v Name - the word or combination of words by which a data element is known v Context - the source of a data element name

SDC JE-2023 Development of a Naming Convention v Establish a scope for the convention v Determine the authority that establishes a name v Develop semantic rules for the source and content of words used in a name v Formulate syntax rules for required word order

SDC JE-2023 Development of a Naming Convention (cont.) v Develop lexical rules covering controlled word lists, name length, character set, and language v Set guidelines on uniqueness of names in context

SDC JE-2023 Lexical Principles v Establish: u Preferred and non-preferred terms u Synonyms u Abbreviations u Component length u Spelling u Permissible character set u Case sensitivity

SDC JE-2023 Using a Thesaurus v Source of name components v Provides semantic linking of preferred terms v Gives guidance in using homographs v Shows equivalence, hierarchy, and association v Allows a controlled vocabulary

SDC JE-2023 Naming Considerations v Each name must be identified with a context v Every data element must have at least one name v Multiple names may be appropriate

SDC JE-2023 Name Context The source of the data element name: v Where it is used v Authority for use v Language

SDC JE-2023 Name Context Examples v Registry Name v Legacy Name v Short Name v Source Name v Standard Name – Country Code – CTRY_CODE – CRYCD – CTRY_CD – ISO 3166 Country Code

SDC JE-2023 Data Element Application Contexts v Abstract (GILS) u Abstract (ASN) u InformationResource.Description.Text (BSR) u Description (Dublin Core) u Abstract (FGDC) u Résumé (French) u Abstract (SGML Tag)

SDC JE-2023 Representation Term v Describes the form of the set of valid values for a data element v Describes the form of the representation of a data element v If the representation is redundant with the property term, one term or part of a term may be removed

SDC JE-2023 Representation Terms v Amount v Code v Count v Date v Group v Measure v Name v Number v Quantity v Rate v Text v Time

SDC JE-2023 Representation Term Examples v Name – Country Name – County Numeric Code – Latitude Degrees Measure v Code v Measure

SDC JE-2023 Data Element Name Content v May be derived from the conceptual domain v May be derived from a logical group or entity class v May come from terms that express the category to which the data element belongs v May be an organizational name

SDC JE-2023 Data Element Name Examples v Employee Last Name v Address State v Tower Height – Best Employee Last Name – Mailing Address State Code – Transmission Tower Height Measure

SDC JE-2023 Qualifier Term v A word or words which help define and differentiate a name within the database v May be attached to any basic data element name and representation class term v May be derived from structured sets of terms v Should not be redundant

SDC JE-2023 Qualifier Term Examples v Best v Mailing v Transmission – Best Employee Last Name – Mailing Address State Code – Transmission Tower Height Measure

SDC JE-2023 Semantics of Separators v Used to separate name components v No semantic meaning v Semantic meaning v Special meaning for a specific language

SDC JE-2023 Semantic Separator Examples v Best_Employee_Last_Name v Mailing.Address.State.Code v Transmission:Tower:Height_Measure v Mailing Address Country Name

SDC JE-2023 So, What’s in a Name? v Establishes what people call a data element. People can use different names in different contexts v Expresses the primary means to refer to objects and concepts for humans