Overview
The metadata universe has traditionally been classified into bins for collection level, catalog level, and granule level metadata (or some other similar classification scheme). It is not unusual for each of these levels to require a different approach to metadata and tool development. Many systems have been developed that are focused on a single "level" of documentation.
The ISO 19115 standard changes this picture by including a ScopeCode in each metadata record. This code describes what the metadata actually applies to and it can have many values: attribute, attributeType, collectionHardware, collectionSession, dataset, series, nonGeographicDataset, dimensionGroup, feature, featureType, propertyType, fieldSession, software, service, model, and tile (see Figure). In fact, it has recently been proposed that this list be expanded considerably.
The name of the scopeCode, hierarchyLevel, implies an hierarchical structure for the metadata. this may not be appropriate in all cases and, in fact, may be confusing. It is probably beneficial to think more in terms of a traditional scope concept than a hierarchy level in this case.
The Scope Code can be used at three different locations in the ISO standard: in the metadata record itself, as shown here, or in a data quality or maintenance report. For example, this allows a quality report about specific attributes or features or for particular collection hardware, for example.
We may need to rethink some of our traditional divisions as we learn to use this powerful new capability in ISO
Recommendations for ISO 19115 and 19115-1
Conceptual Model (UML)
Implementation (XML)
Usage
| Usage | Description and Xpath |
|---|---|
MD_Metadata /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:hierarchyLevel/gmd:MD_ScopeCode | |
DQ_DataQuality /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:DQ_DataQuality/gmd:scope/gmd:DQ_Scope/gmd:level/gmd:MD_ScopeCode | |
MD_MaintenanceInformation /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:metadataMaintenance/gmd:MD_MaintenanceInformation/gmd:updateScope/gmd:MD_ScopeCode |
19115-1 Revisions
| 19115 | 19115-1 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
//gmd:hierarchyLevel//gmd:MD_ScopeCode //gmd:hierarchyLevelName/gco:CharacterString | //mdb:metadataScope/mdb:MD_MetadataScope/mdb:resourceScope/mcc:MD_ScopeCode mdb:metadataScope/mdb:MD_MetadataScope/mdb:name/gco:CharacterString | ISO 19115 included any number of hierarchyLevels and hierarchyLevelNames. In cases with multiple occurrences of each, it was impossible to associate a given hierarchyLevel with the correct hierarchyLevelName. ISO 19115-1 addresses this ambiguity with the MD_MetadataScope object that unambiguously associates a MD_ScopeCode and the correct name. |
| N/A | //MD_Constraints/mco:constraintApplicationScope/mcc:MD_Scope | ISO 19115-1 adds new element (constraintApplicationScope) in order to allow the description of constraints on a resource that varies in space and/or time and/or level. |
| N/A | //mrl:LI_Lineage/mrl:scope/mcc:MD_Scope | ISO 19115-1 adds an MD_Scope object to LI_Lineage in order to document the type of resource and/or extent to which the lineage information applies. |
| N/A | //mrl:LI_Source/mrl:scope/mcc:MD_Scope | ISO 19115-1 adds an MD_Scope object to LI_Source in order to document the type of resource and/or extent to which the source information applies. |
| N/A | //mrl:LI_ProcessStep/mrl:scope/mcc:MD_Scope | ISO 19115-1 adds an MD_Scope object to LI_ProcessStep in order to document the type of resource and/or extent to which the process step information applies. |
| N/A | //mdq:DQ_DataQuality/mdq:report/*/mdq:result/*/mdq:resultScope/mdq:DQ_Scope | ISO 19115-1 adds an DQ_Scope object to document the results scope of a data quality report. |
Overview
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