IdentifyingRelatedRecords - AtlasOfLivingAustralia/ala-datamob GitHub Wiki

This document is a problem statement only

Please visit the RelatedRecords page where you will find proposals for handling these cases in DarwinCore & HISPID; i'll try to keep these scenarios up-to-date as more arise...

Scenarios

A standing assumption: these are patterns in the processes, hopefully evident in the source data; the goal is to ensure the data standards support communicating these relationships if the source data capture them.

  1. Specimen record holds metadata on multiple preparations
  2. Specimen record is a single preparation
  3. One or more preparations relate to one or more specimens through a cross-reference table (note: this situation has not been encountered - if this is your data, give us a yell! thanks...)
  4. Any of the above three, but 'specimen' is already a constituent part (piece, relationship, derivation) of another
  5. A 'collection item' being a generalisation of the more specific (specimen) in any of the above scenarios
  6. Any collection item, from which one or more observations (sightings, occurrences) are evident - these observations may not necessarily have a determination (taxon)
  7. Any collection item representing another in a many to one relationship; eg: * a photo of a drawer full of specimens * a photo of a flock of birds * a digitisation of a sound-reel, having many recordings, each recording a discrete site visit, each recording capturing one or more taxa
  8. DNA and one (or more) sequence(s) of (barcodes), each sequence matching one or more taxa (next-gen sequencing - http://www.google.com.au/search?q=nextgen+sequencing)
  9. vouchering of specimens amongst herbaria
  10. duplication of specimens within herbaria collection management systems (digital representations of the physical, sharing, donation
  11. collaboration between institutions in the field; specimen(s) gathered from a common observation (biological individual, sighting, occurrence) made on a joint expedition
  12. deriving sightings from sightings (?)
  13. ...

Further reading

Please visit the RelatedRecords page where you will find proposals for handling these cases in DarwinCore & HISPID.