Resource vs Entity

[gothub]

Should checks refer to ‘entity’ or ‘resource’ for data objects? The checks for KNB, ADC use the term 'entity', but those checks are EML specific. Documentation for ISO 19115-* uses the term 'resource' (Ted H.?).

[gothub]

checks are being updated to use the term 'entity' not 'resource' as it is more specific and standard terminology for EML.

[amilan17]

This is still confusing terminology. It looks like entity is being referenced in a couple different ways. inconsistently.

[tedhabermann]

I recommend changing all dataset. checks to resource. and am checking the current entity. checks to see which should actually be dataset.

[mbjones]

Well, before we change anything, lets talk about a few working definitions so it is clear how we are using the terms. In our vernacular, we mirror the model used in the Counter Code of Practice for Research Data with roughly the following 3 level hierarchy:

• Collection == Catalog == Repository
  • A curated aggregation of datasets.
• Dataset == Data Package =~ Research Object
  • An aggregation of component digital objects, published or curated by a single agent, and available for access or download in one or more formats, with accompanying metadata
• Digital Object == Entity == Data File == Data granule == Component
  • A single digital object containing data, such as a single data table, image, or netCDF file, and that can be a component of a Dataset

The W3C definition of "Resource" is quite a bit broader, and really crosses these boundaries, and can be used for anything that can be identified. The definition of a Resource from RFC 2396 allows it to represent both an individual entity and a collection of entities:

     A resource can be anything that has identity.  Familiar
     examples include an electronic document, an image, a service
     (e.g., "today's weather report for Los Angeles"), and a
     collection of other resources.  Not all resources are network
     "retrievable"; e.g., human beings, corporations, and bound
     books in a library can also be considered resources.
     The resource is the conceptual mapping to an entity or set of
     entities, not necessarily the entity which corresponds to that
     mapping at any particular instance in time.  Thus, a resource
     can remain constant even when its content---the entities to
     which it currently corresponds---changes over time, provided
     that the conceptual mapping is not changed in the process.

This flexibility makes it less useful for our purposes, as it makes it unclear how to differentiate the three levels that COUNTER outlines (Data Collection / Dataset / Entity), because it seems to me that all three of those are "resources" in the W3C sense. So I prefer the 'Collection/Dataset/Entity' hierarchy which I think is clearer, given our need to differentiate those levels in our checks.