Dataset type [RDST]

[jpullmann]

Dataset type [RDST]

Provide a mechanism to indicate the type of data being described and recommend vocabularies to use given the dataset type indicated.

Providing examples of scope will provide guidance, without being unnecessarily restrictive. The key requirement is interoperability, achieved by using standardised vocabulary terms. It it unclear whether a canonical registry is required or whether communities should constrain choice via DCAT profiles.

Related requirements: Dataset aspects [RDSAT] 
Related use cases: Scope or type of dataset with a DCAT description [ID8] Modelling resources different from datasets [ID20] 

[dr-shorthair]

Some existing type vocabularies:

DCMI Type vocabulary - http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/#section-7

ISO 19115 Scope Code vocabulary - http://registry.it.csiro.au/def/isotc211/MD_ScopeCode https://geo-ide.noaa.gov/wiki/index.php?title=ISO_19115_and_19115-2_CodeList_Dictionaries#MD_ScopeCode

PARSE.Insight content-types recommended for Re3data - http://www.re3data.org/schema http://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/escidoc:1397899 item 15 contentType

The last one takes some burrowing to find inside a PDF, so I've copied the contents of the key table here:

15 contentType

PARSE.Insight type | Examples of File Formats

Standard office documents | text documents, spreadsheets, presentations
Networkbased data | websites, email, chat history, etc.
Databases | DBASE, MS Access, Oracle, MySQL, etc.
Images | JPEG, JPEG2000, GIF, TIF, PNG, SVG, etc.
Structured graphics | CAD, CAM, 3D, VRML, etc.
Audiovisual data | WAVE, MP3, MP4, Flash, etc.
Scientific and statistical data formats | SPSS, FITS, GIS, etc.
Raw data | device specific output
Plain text | TXT in various encodings
Structured text | XML, SGML, etc.
Archived data | ZIP, RAR, JAR, etc.
Software applications | modelling tools, editors, IDE, compilers, etc.
Source code | scripting, Java, C, C++, Fortran, etc.
Configuration data | parameter settings, logs, library files
Other | -

[dr-shorthair]

Interesting that GeoDCAT-AP models all services as types of dcat:Catalog [1] .
In DCAT 1.0 it looks like it was expected that dcat:Distribution would be used -
from https://w3c.github.io/dxwg/dcat/#vocabulary-overview

• dcat:Distribution represents an accessible form of a dataset as for example a downloadable file, an RSS feed or a web service that provides the data.

from https://w3c.github.io/dxwg/dcat/#class-distribution

• a specific available form of a dataset. Each dataset might be available in different forms, these forms might represent different formats of the dataset or different endpoints. Examples of distributions include a downloadable CSV file, an API or an RSS feed
  --

[1] - https://www.w3.org/TR/dcat-ucr/#ID20

[andrea-perego]

Interesting that GeoDCAT-AP models all services as types of dcat:Catalog [1] .
In DCAT 1.0 it looks like it was expected that dcat:Distribution would be used -

I think these two approaches concern two different use cases, and they are not mutually exclusive (GeoDCAT-AP uses both).

In DCAT, services (besides dcat:Catalog's) are not first-class citizens, but they are considered indirectly (via dcat:Distribution) only if they give access to data concerning a given dataset record.

This is also how GeoDCAT-AP models services if they are linked to from distributions, as shown in UC-18.

The other use case is about having records on services as a standalone entity (which in any case gives access to data). This includes information who is the service publisher, which type of service it is (a discovery, view, download, transformation, etc. service), etc.

A clarification About how GeoDCAT-AP models this, @dr-shorthair : GeoDCAT-AP uses dcat:Catalog only for catalogue/discovery services; all the other ones are modelled with dctype:Service.

[dr-shorthair]

GeoDCAT-AP uses dcat:Catalog only for catalogue/discovery services;

OK, good.

[andrea-perego]

@dr-shorthair said:

Some existing type vocabularies: [...]

I include here also the resource types used in DataCite, along with the corresponding Dublin Core and DCAT classes (when available), documented in the DataCite to DCAT-AP mapping exercise we carried out at JRC:

DataCite	Dublin Core	DCAT
Audiovisual	dctype:MovingImage	dcat:Dataset
Collection	dctype:Collection	dcat:Dataset
Dataset	dctype:Dataset	dcat:Dataset
Event	dctype:Event
Image	dctype:Image	dcat:Dataset
InteractiveResource	dctype:InteractiveResource	dcat:Dataset
Model		dcat:Dataset
PhysicalObject	dctype:PhysicalObject
Service	dctype:Service
Software	dctype:Software	dcat:Dataset
Sound	dctype:Sound	dcat:Dataset
Text	dctype:Text	dcat:Dataset
Workflow		dcat:Dataset