Introduction to

Controlled Vocabularies

(Term Lists)

Controlled Vocabularies

What: list of terms to choose from

Aim: easier to transfer data

Where: Data Guidelines and Discovery Metadata Standard

Vocabularies are available directly

or

‘served’ using the NERC Vocabulary Server (SeaDataNet)

Example – Platform types

Website

http://vocab.ndg.nerc.ac.uk/client/vocabServer.jsp

NERC Vocab Service:

http://seadatanet.maris2.nl/v_bodc_vocab/welcome.aspx/

• Units, Instruments, platforms, sea areas etc

SeaDataNet

http://seadatanet.maris2.nl/v_bodc_vocab/vocabrelations.aspx

SeaDataNet

Parameter relationships and discovery

Other Useful Controlled Vocabularies

http://www.ices.dk/datacentre/reco/

http://www.epsg.org/

Marine Species of the British Isles and Adjacent Seas (MSBIAS). http://www.marinespecies.org/msbias/index.php

How to add?

E-mail Clare Postlethwaite cfpo@bodc.ac.uk – check with appropriate governance group.

Practical

Aim – to familiarise yourself with different controlled vocabularies

1) Find the MEDIN webpage for controlled vocabularies (www.oceannet.org/marine_data_standards/medin_approved.html)

2) Find:

a) Area code for the Irish Sea (use SeaDataNet)

b) The AphiaID for UK species Mytilus edulis (use MSBIAS)

c) Code for the horizontal reference system WGS84 (use EPSG)

d) Platform Code for Moored Surface Buoy

• 1_4• AphiaID: 140480• EPSG::7030 • 41