ISEAL Core Metadata Set Specification

This page provides a reference specification for the ISEAL Core Metadata set (ISEAL Core).

ISEAL Core is a set of structured terms and vocabularies that can be used as metadata to describe, share, and reuse different digital resources across the ISEAL Community and broader set of stakeholders. The resources described using the ISEAL Core are those that sustainability systems typically collect, curate, manage, use, publish and archive. They may be datasets, published research, certificates, videos, images, maps, or other organizational documentation.

Clusters and Modules

Metadata elements in ISEAL Core are organized around three clusters and ten modules.

Global	Certification	Impact
Coverage	Assurance	Evaluation
Form	Certificate
Provenance	Certificate Holder, Owner or Certified organization
Scope	Certified Resource or Site
Status

Metadata Elements

ISEAL Core uses elements from the following standard metadata schemas:

Dublin Core Elements with the dc namespace prefix. These were originally designated in 1995 and are considered deprecated and superseded by Dublin Core Terms. Due to legacy code in the DSpace software we must still use some of these.
Dublin Core Terms with the dcterms namespace prefix. These contain the original Dublin Core Terms and add others. As of 2008 these supercede the original Dublin Core Elements.

General guidelines for metadata using ISEAL Core:

Encoding: metadata should be encoded in UTF-8 to ensure correct representation of international characters.
Applicability: metadata should describe what the item is, not what it isn't. If a metadata element is not applicable you should not use it. Do not enter "N/A"!

Global Cluster

Coverage Module

Elements in the Coverage module: is.coverage.countryAlpha2 is.coverage.country is.coverage.geographicLevel is.coverage.latitude is.coverage.longitude is.coverage.place is.coverage.region

Form Module

Provenance Module

Elements in the Provenance module: is.author.orcid dc.contributor.author is.contact.email is.contact.name is.contributor.funder is.contributor.funderType is.contributor.member is.journalName is.organization.bluenumber is.organization.ror dcterms.alternative is.item.publicationPlace dcterms.publisher dcterms.isPartOf dc.title

Scope Module

Elements in the Scope module: is.identifier.clause is.identifier.code is.delta.sustainIndicator is.focus.strategyPillar is.focus.systemElement is.focus.products is.focus.gtin is.focus.sdg is.focus.sectors is.identifier.standardCode dcterms.subject is.focus.sustainLens is.focus.sustainDimension is.focus.sustainIssue is.focus.sustainOutcome is.identifier.schemeName is.identifier.schemeType

Status Module

Elements in the Status module: dc.date.accessioned dc.date.available dcterms.modified dcterms.created dcterms.issued is.dateOfVersion is.dateReviewed is.dateRevised dcterms.dateSubmitted is.extent.edition dcterms.isReplacedBy is.item.reviewStatus is.dateOfVersion1 dcterms.valid is.identifier.standardStatus is.item.status is.extent.version

Certification Cluster

Assurance Module

Certificate Module

Elements in the Certificate module: is.certificate.ID is.certificate.locations is.certificate.duration is.certificate.endDate is.certificate.startDate is.certificate.firstStartDate is.certificate.licenseCode is.certificate.licenseStatus is.certificate.ownership is.certificate.scope is.certificate.status is.certificate.type

Certificate Holder, Owner or Certified organization Module

Elements in the Certificate Holder, Owner or Certified organization module: is.certifiedOrganization.city is.certifiedOrganization.country is.certifiedOrganization.email is.certifiedOrganization.addressLat is.certifiedOrganization.addressLong is.certifiedOrganization.phoneCountryCode is.certifiedOrganization.phoneNumber is.certifiedOrganization.postCode is.certifiedOrganization.streetName is.certifiedOrganization.url is.certifiedOrganization.gln is.certifiedOrganizationID is.certifiedOrganization.name is.certifiedOrganization.role

Certified Resource or Site Module

Elements in the Certified Resource or Site module: is.certifiedSite.adminArea is.certifiedSite.analysisArea is.certifiedSite.area is.certificate.siteID is.certifiedSite.coordDetail is.certifiedSite.lat is.certifiedSite.locationName is.certifiedSite.long is.certifiedSite.naturalSetAside is.certifiedSite.productionArea is.certifiedSite.restorationSetAside is.certificate.sites

Impact Cluster

Evaluation Module

Elements in the Evaluation module: is.evaluation.authorDirectionality is.evaluation.comparison is.evaluation.counterfacts is.evaluation.dataSource is.evaluation.collection is.evaluation.findings is.evaluation.noDifferenceDirectionality is.evaluation.notes is.evaluation.outcome is.evaluation.quotes is.evaluation.recommendations is.evaluation.significance is.evaluation.test is.evaluation.scope is.evidenceSubType is.evidenceResourceType is.evidenceSummary is.evidenceType

Download

The ISEAL Core schema is available for download in two formats:

Turtle

Terse RDF Triple Language (TTL). Use this format when you need to validate metadata against ISEAL Core programmatically.

Download

CSV

Comma-separated Values (CSV). Use this format when you just need a quick and easy offline reference. To download in CSV format, either right click and select ‘download’ or open the link and select CTRL+S.

Download

Schema Extensions

Forest Stewardship Council

Credits

The ISEAL Core Metadata Set and FSC extension were compiled by Peter Ballantyne drawing on reviews of information systems and conversations with individuals in several organizations, notably FSC and ISEAL. The metadata were reviewed, improved and published on GitHub by Alan Orth and Marie-Angelique Laporte. Elizabeth Kennedy oversaw the data implementations and Julie Smith provided overall project management. For more information about the development of these resources please see https://www.isealalliance.org/isealcoremetadata.

Feedback

If you have questions/comments please contact Elise Boileau (elise@isealalliance.org).