[eml-dev] EML project/studyAreaDescription

[Margaret O'Brien]

Hi eml-devs --
a group of us at the LTER are updating our "EML Best Practices for LTER 
sites". One of the sections people have a hard time with is the 
studyAreaDescription of the project tree. The normative docs are not too 
clear on how the descriptor tag, its attributes and child elements can 
be used together under various conditions. The examples seem quite 
varied and ad hoc.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that the <descriptor> tag has 2 
required attributes, "name" and a boolean, 
"citableClassificationSystem". The boolean is straightforward, but what 
is not quite so, is what to put in the descriptor name when the 
citableClassificationSystem="false".

For example, this construct seems pretty straightforward - if my study 
area is the coast of California, Bailey region 261:
<studyAreaDescription>
<descriptor name="bailey" citableClassificationSystem="true" >
  <descriptorValue name_or_id="261">California Coastal Chaparral Forest 
Shrub Province</descriptorValue>
  <citation>
    <title>Ecoregions of the United States</title>
    <creator>
      <individualName>
        <surName>Bailey</surName>
      </individualName>
    </creator>
  <distribution>
  <online>
    <url>http://www.fs.fed.us</url>
  </online>
  </citation>
</descriptor>    
</studyAreaDescription>


But if I want to use a theme, or don't have a classification system, 
would I do something like this?
      <studyAreaDescription>
        <descriptor name="Coastal Marine System" 
citableClassificationSystem="false">
          <descriptorValue>Kelp Forest</descriptorValue>
        </descriptor>
      </studyAreaDescription>

or this?
      <studyAreaDescription>
        <descriptor name="none" citableClassificationSystem="false">
          <descriptorValue>Kelp Forest</descriptorValue>
        </descriptor>
      </studyAreaDescription>


Any elucidation will help -- thanks for the advice!
Margaret




-- 
Margaret O'Brien
Information Management
Santa Barbara Coastal LTER
Marine Science Institute
University of California
Santa Barbara CA 93106
805-893-2071