Documenting People and Organizations

Many documentation dialects include mechanisms for connecting people and organizations to metadata records. There are two general approaches to these connections. The first involves including the roles of the people in the names of the metadata element's. For example, the NetCDF Attribute Convention for Data Discovery includes fields titled creator_name, creator_email, and creator_url. This approach makes it difficult to standardize because new standard elements must be added in order to add a new role, i.e. processor_name, processor_email, processor_URL. The second approach centers around a generic description of a person or an organization that includes an attribute that gives the role they play with respect to the resource being documented. This approach allows additions by extending the list of roles. See NetCDF, HDF, and ISO Metadata for more details on this approach.

Connecting people to resources is an important role of metadata. In addition, it is critical to describe people's role with respect to the resource.

NASA GCMD Directory Interchange Format

The DIF dialect differentiates clearly between documentation of people and organizations. People are documented using the Personnel object with roles of DIF AUTHOR, INVESTIGATOR, and TECHNICAL CONTACT:

<dif:Personnel>
  <dif:Role/>
  <dif:First_Name/>
  <dif:Middle_Name/>
  <dif:Last_Name/>
  <dif:Email/>
  <dif:Phone/>
  <dif:Fax/>
  <dif:Contact_Address>
    <dif:Address/>
    <dif:City/>
    <dif:Province_or_State/>
    <dif:Postal_Code/>
    <dif:Country/>
  </dif:Contact_Address>
</dif:Personnel>

The dialect includes information for one type of organization: the Data Center that distributes the data. The Data Centers are documented using the DataCenter object:

<dif:Data_Center>
  <dif:Data_Center_Name>
    <dif:Short_Name/>
    <dif:Long_Name/>
  </dif:Data_Center_Name>
  <dif:Data_Center_URL/>
  <dif:Data_Set_ID/>
  <dif:Personnel>
    <dif:Role/>
    <dif:First_Name/>
    <dif:Middle_Name/>
    <dif:Last_Name/>
    <dif:Email/>
    <dif:Phone/>
    <dif:Fax/>
    <dif:Contact_Address>
      <dif:Address/>
      <dif:City/>
      <dif:Province_or_State/>
      <dif:Postal_Code/>
      <dif:Country/>
    </dif:Contact_Address>
  </dif:Personnel>
</dif:Data_Center>

ECHO

The ECHO dialect combines people and organizations into the Contact structure:

<Contact>
  <Role/>
  <HoursOfService/>
  <Instructions/>
  <OrganizationName/>
  <OrganizationAddresses>
    <Address>
      <StreetAddress/>
      <City/>
      <StateProvince/>
      <PostalCode/>
      <Country/>
    </Address>
  </OrganizationAddresses>
  <OrganizationPhones>
    <Phone>
      <Number/>
      <Type>voice</Type>
    </Phone>
    <Phone>
      <Number/>
      <Type>fax</Type>
    </Phone>
  </OrganizationPhones>
  <OrganizationEmails>
    <Email/>
  </OrganizationEmails>
  <ContactPersons>
    <ContactPerson>
      <FirstName/>
      <MiddleName/>
      <LastName/>
      <JobPosition/>
    </ContactPerson>
  </ContactPersons>
</Contact>

ECS

<Contact>
  <Role/>
  <HoursofService/>
  <ContactInstructions/>
  <ContactOrganizationAddress>
    <StreetAddress/>
    <City/>
    <StateProvince/>
    <PostalCode/>
    <Country/>
  </ContactOrganizationAddress>
  <OrganizationTelephone>
    <TelephoneNumber/>
    <TelephoneNumberType/>
  </OrganizationTelephone>
  <OrganizationEmail>
    <ElectronicMailAddress/>
  </OrganizationEmail>
  <ContactPersons>
    <ContactFirstName/>
    <ContactMiddleName/>
    <ContactLastName/>
    <ContactJobPosition/>
  </ContactPersons>
</Contact>

Roles

The ECS Collection Metadata include eight roles:

Value	Count
Archive	4481
Data Originator	594
Distributor	6
Instrument	68
Investigator	851
Producer	3201
Quality Assessment	4
User Services	587

ISO

The ISO dialect combines people and organizations into the CI_ResponsibleParty object, a flexible structure that supports many combinations of organizations and people. Most objects that include associated responsible parties can have any number, so, for example, a citation can have people identified in any or all of the roles listed in the CI_RoleCode code list.

The structure of the CI_ResponsibleParty is:

<gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty>
  <gmd:individualName/>
  <gmd:organisationName/>
  <gmd:positionName/>
  <gmd:contactInfo>
    <gmd:CI_Contact>
      <gmd:phone/>
      <gmd:address>
        <gmd:CI_Address>
          <gmd:deliveryPoint/>
          <gmd:city/>
          <gmd:administrativeArea/>
          <gmd:postalCode/>
          <gmd:country/>
          <gmd:electronicMailAddress/>
        </gmd:CI_Address>
      </gmd:address>
      <gmd:onlineResource/>
      <gmd:hoursOfService/>
      <gmd:contactInstructions/>
    </gmd:CI_Contact>
  </gmd:contactInfo>
  <gmd:role/>
</gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty>

Roles

CI_RoleCode

ISO 19115	Added in ISO 19115-1
+ resourceProvider + custodian + owner + user + distributor + originator + pointOfContact + principalInvestigator + processor + publisher + author	+ sponsor + coAuthor + collaborator + editor + mediator + rightsHolder + contributor + funder + stakeholder

Crosswalks

Concept	Description	Paths
Role	function performed by the responsible party	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Role ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:Role ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:Role ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:role/gmd:CI_RoleCode UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:Role
Organization Name	Name of the organization	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Center/dif:Data_Center_Name/dif:Short_Name DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Center/dif:Data_Center_Name/dif:Long_Name ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationName ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactOrganizationName ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:organisationName/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:ContactPerson/umm:OrganizationName
Position Name	Name of the job or position in an organization	ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:ContactPersons/echo:ContactPerson/echo:JobPosition ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactPersons/ecs:ContactJobPosition ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:positionName/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:JobPosition
First Name	First name of the individual	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:First_Name ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:ContactPersons/echo:ContactPerson/echo:FirstName ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactPersons/ecs:ContactFirstName ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:individualName/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:ContactPerson/umm:FirstName
Middle Name	Middle name of the individual	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Middle_Name ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:ContactPersons/echo:ContactPerson/echo:MiddleName ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactPersons/ecs:ContactMiddleName ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:individualName/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:ContactPerson/umm:MiddleName
Last Name	Last name of the individual	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Last_Name ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:ContactPersons/echo:ContactPerson/echo:LastName ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactPersons/ecs:ContactLastName ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:individualName/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:ContactPerson/umm:LastName
Email	Email address of the individual or organization	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Email ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationEmails/echo:Email ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:OrganizationEmail/ecs:ElectronicMailAddress ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:address/gmd:CI_Address/gmd:electronicMailAddress/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:ContactPerson/umm:Email
Hours of Service	Time period (including time zone) when individuals can contact the organisation or individual	ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:HoursOfService ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:HoursofService ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:hoursOfService/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:HoursOfService
Contact Instructions	Supplemental instructions on how or when to contact the individual or organisation	ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:Instructions ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactInstructions ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:contactInstructions/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:Instructions
Phone	Telephone numbers at which the organisation or individual may be contacted	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Phone ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationPhones/echo:Phone[echo:type='voice]'/echo:Number ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:OrganizationTelephone[ecs:TelephoneNumberType='Voice']/ecs:TelephoneNumber ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:phone/gmd:CI_Telephone/gmd:voice/gco:CharacterString
Fax	Telephone numbers at which the organisation or individual may be contacted via facsimile (fax)	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Fax ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationPhones/echo:Phone[echo:type='fax]'/echo:Number ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:OrganizationTelephone[ecs:TelephoneNumberType='Facsimile']/ecs:TelephoneNumber ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:phone/gmd:CI_Telephone/gmd:facsimile/gco:CharacterString
Address	Address line for the location	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Contact_Address/dif:Address ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationAddresses/echo:Address/echo:StreetAddress ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactOrganizationAddress/ecs:StreetAddress ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:address/gmd:CI_Address/gmd:deliveryPoint/gco:CharacterString UMM /umm:UMM/umm:Personnel/umm:ContactPerson/umm:Address
City	City of the location	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Contact_Address/dif:City ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationAddresses/echo:Address/echo:City ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactOrganizationAddress/ecs:City ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:address/gmd:CI_Address/gmd:city/gco:CharacterString
Province or State	Province, state, or other administrative area of the location	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Contact_Address/dif:Province_or_State ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationAddresses/echo:Address/echo:StateProvince ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactOrganizationAddress/ecs:StateProvince ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:address/gmd:CI_Address/gmd:administrativeArea/gco:CharacterString
Postal_Code	Zip code or other postal code for the location	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Contact_Address/dif:Postal_Code ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationAddresses/echo:Address/echo:PostalCode ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactOrganizationAddress/ecs:PostalCode ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:address/gmd:CI_Address/gmd:postalCode/gco:CharacterString
Country	Country of the location	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Personnel/dif:Contact_Address/dif:Country ECHO /*/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact/echo:OrganizationAddresses/echo:Address/echo:Country ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:Contact/ecs:ContactOrganizationAddress/ecs:Country ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:address/gmd:CI_Address/gmd:coountry/gco:CharacterString
Web Page	On-line information that can be used to contact the individual or organisation	DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Center/dif:Data_Center_URL ISO //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:CI_Contact/gmd:onlineResource/gmd:CI_OnlineResource

xPath Note: The xPaths included in this table use several wildcards. // means any path, so //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty indicates a gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty anywhere in an XML file. /*/ indicates a single level with several possible elements. This usually indicates one of several concrete realizations of an abstract object. For example /*/gmd:identificationInfo could be gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo or gmi:MI_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo and gmd:identificationInfo//*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords could be gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords or gmd:identificationInfo/srv:SV_ServiceIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords.