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To create the current core metadata schema, we examined existing metadata from the COVID-19 national portal, metadata schema provided by Health-RI nodes (e.g., ABC metadata), and standards used in portals across Europe and beyond (e.g., W3C, DCAT, DCAT-AP). Then, with assistance from metadata specialists from the hub and nodes, we began mapping their classes and properties. The mappings are detailed in the mapping table. Finally, after conceptualisation, we decided to reuse DCAT and DCAT-AP for its implementation. This version of the Core metadata schema includes DCAT v3 and some selected DCAT-AP mandatory classes and their definitions. The most important entities are those that form the core of the DCAT application profile. DCAT-AP is a DCAT application profile for the exchange of information about catalogue of datasets and description of data services in Europe. Hence, the Core metadata schema ensures compatibility with international catalogues which also use DCAT-AP.This is mainly because the DCAT application profile covers the identified requirements.
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dcat:Resource and other Resource Types
Within DCAT and DCAT-AP, the term "resource" generally encompasses all objects that can be described using RDF. However, there are specific categories and attributes used to indicate the different types of resources:
dcat:Datasetis a type ofrdfsdcat:Resourcerepresenting a collection of datadcat:Distributionis a type ofrdfsdcat:ResourceResourceerepresenting an available form or representation of a dataset.dcat:catalogueis a type ofrdfsdcat:Resourcerepresenting a collection of datasets.dcat:DataService, introduced in DCAT version 2, is a type of Resource representing a service for accessing data.foaf:Projectis a type ofrdfsdcat:Resourcerepresenting project level information
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Class name | Definition | Usage Note | URI |
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Dataset | A resource type. | Used to describe one or more datasets. This describes details about the dataset(s). However, a single dataset can have different ways in which they are made available to potential users. How the data in a dataset can be accessed is defined in the Distribution. |
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Catalogue | A catalogue that is listed in the National catalogue. | Used to describe a bundle of datasets, data services, biobanks, patient registries, or guidelines together under a single title. |
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Agent | An entity that is associated with catalogue and/or Datasets. | If the Agent is an organisation, the use of the Organization Ontology is recommended. |
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Resource | Anything described by RDFResource published or curated by a single agent. | This is an abstract class, we do not use this class, instead we use specifications of it (e.g. Dataset). This is mainly for a high level grouping and the reuse of properties. |
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Recommended Classes
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Class name | Definition | Usage Note | URI |
|---|---|---|---|
Resource |
| Resource is a generic concept from the DCAT vocabulary, which means that you rarely use this class directly, but indirectly through its extensions. We recommend that you avoid using dcat:Resource directly for your document unless the type that you are looking for is not available in this schema. This class is for grouping and enjoying class hierarchy relation purposes. |
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Core Metadata Schema Properties per Class
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Property name | Definition | URI | rdfs:Range | Usage Note | Cardinality |
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end point URL | The root location or primary endpoint of the service (a Web-resolvable IRI). |
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Or
| NA | 1..* |
title | A name given to the distribution. |
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| NA | 1..* |
serves dataset | A collection of data that this data service can distribute. |
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| NA | 1..* |
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Property name | Definition | URI | rdfs:Range | Usage Note | Cardinality |
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end point description | A description of the services available via the end-points, including their operations, parameters etc. |
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| An endpoint description may be expressed in a machine-readable form, such as an OpenAPI (Swagger) description [OpenAPI], an OGC | 0..* |
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Property name | Definition | URI | rdfs:Range | Usage Note | Cardinality |
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access service | A data service that gives access to the distribution of the dataset |
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| 0..* |
download URL | The URL of the downloadable file in a given format. E.g., CSV file or RDF file. The format is indicated by the distribution's |
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| NA | 0..* |
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All things described by RDF are called resources, and they are instances of the class rdfsdcat:Resource. This is the class of everything. All other classes are subclasses of this class. To read more, go to https://www.w3.org/TR/rdf12-schema/#ch_resource.
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