Description

brief: short account for selection purposes
full: full account
logo: symbol used as an identifying mark More information
note: a brief informational message, not object metadata, to notify the record consumer of some important aspect regarding the object or its metadata
deliveryMethod: (services only) information about how the service is delivered. Should be one of: webservice, software, offline, workflow More information
significanceStatement: (collections only) a statement describing the significance of a collection within its domain or context More information

Local description types may also be used. These may be appropriate for recording important descriptive elements from the source metadata which are not present in RIF-CS, but which are essential to add context to the metadata.

Rights information

RIF-CS v1.3.0 (from December 2011) includes a new rights element for recording rights, licences and access rights information. Existing feeds can continue to use the description element types below for providing rights information, but use of the new element is encouraged.

rights: (collections only) information about rights held in and over the collection such as copyright, licenses and other intellectual property rights
accessRights: (collections and services) information about access rights to the collection or service, including access restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies

Research domain examples

Print publications such as theses, books and journal articles often contain an abstract or summary which describes the content succinctly. The abstract helps a reader decide whether the publication is likely to meet their needs. Descriptions in the ANDS Collections Registry perform the same function, as well as providing searchable text for search engines.

Additional information

The language in which the description is written can be recorded using <xml:lang>. This information answers the question: What language is this description recorded in? More information about <xml:lang>.

Use in Research Data Australia

All descriptions are displayed and are searchable (with the exception of logo images).
Brief descriptions display before full descriptions.
Descriptions longer than 4000 characters will be truncated.
If a logo image is provided for a party, it will be displayed:
- in party records
- in collection records adjacent to links to related parties

RIF-CS best practice guidelines

Repeating descriptions

To record different kinds of descriptions (e.g. brief, full, logo), repeat the description element and select a different description type.

Choosing between brief and full descriptions

The difference between brief and full descriptions is not governed by formal criteria but is contextual. The same amount of storage space is provided for both kinds of description. Brief descriptions are displayed first.

Writing good descriptions

Good quality collection descriptions will increase the chances of a collection being discoverable through search engines, as well as helping researchers decide if the collection is likely to be useful for them. The following principles are recommended:

Write the description for a reader who has general familiarity with a research area but is not a specialist—this will make data more accessible for cross-disciplinary use.
Don't use specialist acronyms or obscure jargon.
Don't assume a reader has specialist knowledge.
Include important keywords within the text—this makes them accessible for search engines. Inclusion of a paragraph beginning with Keywords: and followed by a list of keywords is acceptable. However, best practice would be to include the keywords as subjects.
Collection descriptions should be consistent with the assigned collection type. If describing a dataset, the description should be about that dataset, not just a general description of the research that created the dataset.
Re-use of abstracts or research proposals can be a useful source for a description, as long as it is appropriate to the collection being described. ANDS prefers that headings (such as 'Abstract' or 'Executive summary') not be imported along with the abstract if possible. Descriptions of projects themselves, as opposed to descriptions of the resulting collections, should be included in an activity record. More information about activity records
Include a description of the kinds of objects in the collection (for example database, printed photographs, digital images, lab notes) and the basis of selection for objects included in the collection (for example information about how data was analysed) as well as describing what the collection is about.
Do not include hyperlinks within the description field. These will not display as links in Research Data Australia. Instead, include links in the Related information part of the XML document.

Collection description examples

The following examples of collection descriptions were created for illustrative purposes unless otherwise noted.

Collection description example

The Gippsland picture collection consists of a number of unique images of rural and regional Victoria from 1920 to 1970s. They cover a large and diverse geographical area, reflecting industrial development, agriculture, country towns and people of the region. The collection includes a number of smaller "collections" reflecting the original photographer or source of donation. The collection has been built largely by donation from the Gippsland community. Some of the items are photographic copies of originals held elsewhere - such as the State Library of Victoria or in private hands. It consists mainly of large format black; white photographic prints. There are also 35mm colour slides, a small number of colour prints, glass negatives (with print copies of adequate quality for digitising), colour transparencies, and postcards. The digitised images are available through the Monash University ARROW repository and through Picture Australia.
(from Research Data Australia, Centre for Gippsland Studies Picture Collection)

Dataset description example

The LMOP Coral Reef Disease Index dataset contains data recording observations of coral reef health based on samples taken from LMOP Reef during the summer of 1996 from the research vessel 'GHIJ Voyager' by an expedition from the Coral Reef University. Variables measured included bleaching, coral species extent and rates of growth, fish species and numbers, water quality, and presence of pest species including algae. The data is stored in a PQRS database (size 4GB), and is available on request. Instrument calibration data, sampling and analysis methodology, data definitions, and links to publications based on this data, accompany the dataset. The collection also includes digital images of each sampling location.

Catalogue or index description example

The JKLM catalogue contains descriptions of items held in the JKLM Archive of Goldfields Manuscripts, which documents life on Australian goldfields during the late nineteenth century. All 18,000 manuscripts are described, and digitised images of 3,000 manuscripts and 1200 photographs are available to the public on the archive's searchable website. The catalogue includes all names mentioned in manuscripts, to support genealogical research. The archive contains documents, photographs, drawings and maps created in the X, Y and Z goldfields between 1880 and 1905, and is located in the town of JKLM.

Registry description example

The ANDS Collections Registry stores and manages descriptions of research data created by or of interest to Australian researchers. The contents of the ANDS Collections Registry can be found through search engines or accessed through Research Data Australia. The goal of the registry is to support public access to publicly funded research data as can be provided within the constraints of privacy, copyright and technology. It is funded by the Australian Government's Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Repository description

The XYZ Research Repository stores and manages research data and publications created by members of XYZ University from 2003 onwards. The repository provides search capability and most content is freely available to the public online. Some content requires registration.

Significance statements

Significance statements are produced for many museum collections in Australia. These statements assist researchers, granting bodies and others in assessing the value of the collection and providing context to the collections. The production of significance statements and how significance is assessed and described is a fundamental part of curatorial practice.

Significance statements may also be used by data providers other than museums to bring attention to important aspects of a collection within its discipline context.

Logos

Links to logo images can be included as descriptions of type="logo".

Example:

This description

<description type="logo">http://datanet.csiro.au/dap/images/csiro60.gif</description>

is displayed in these pages CSIRO party record | Collection with link to CSIRO party record

Display rules for logos

Logos are displayed in Research Data Australia for parties (usually organisations). Logos are not active hyperlinks and do not resolve. From July 2011, logos will also be displayed, if provided, for:

Links to parties from collection records if the relation is:

isOwnedBy

isCollectedBy

isManagedBy

Links to parties from activity records if the relation is:

isOwnedBy

isCollectedBy

isManagedBy

Links to parties from services records if the relation is:

isOwnedBy

isCollectedBy

Note that if any other relation types are used the party logo will not be displayed in the related records.

XHTML formatting

Some text formatting capabilities are provided to allow for more flexible display of information in Research Data Australia. A widget is provided for manual data entry or formatted text can be provided in XML feeds. More information about text formatting.

RIF-CS examples

Description example:

<description type="brief" xml:lang="en">Baseline data collection on Whale Sharks by photo-identification, Whale Shark sex & size and collection of plankton samples to determine Whale Shark prey items.</description>

Date	Change history
April 2010	Consultation draft
26 October 2010	First web publication
25 January 2011	New description types 'deliveryMethod' and 'significanceStatement' added
15 April 2011	Added statement that descriptions are searchable
18 July 2011	Additional information about logos, link to activity record information
21 Nov 2011	Changed recommended method for describing rights, link to new rights element (RIF-CS v1.3.0) added, added link to information about text formatting

Please send any feedback on this page to guides@ands.org.au