Module Documentation: eml-methods

Derived from: ProcedureStepType (by xs:extension)

The methodStep field allows for repeated sets of elements that document a series of procedures followed to produce a data object. These include text descriptions of the procedures, relevant literature, software, instrumentation, source data and any quality control measures taken.
Example(s):
Please see the examples for the sub-fields.

A source of data used by this methodStep.

Description of sampling procedures including the geographic, temporal and taxonomic coverage of the study. See individual elements for more detailed descriptions.

The field studyExtent represents both a specific sampling area and the sampling frequency (temporal boundaries, frequency of occurrence). The geographic studyExtent is usually a surrogate (representative area of) for the larger area documented in the "studyAreaDescription". The studyExtent can be entered either in non-structured textual form or using the structure of the coverage element.

The field studyExtent represents both a specific sampling area and the sampling frequency (temporal boundaries, frequency of occurrence). The geographic studyExtent is usually a surrogate (representative area of) for the larger area documented in the "studyAreaDescription". The studyExtent can be entered either in non-structured textual form or using the structure of the coverage element. See eml-coverage for more information.

The coverage field allows for a textual description of the specific sampling area, the sampling frequency (temporal boundaries, frequency of occurrence), and groups of living organisms sampled (taxonomic coverage).
Example(s):
The study was conducted on the North Platte River, starting 6 miles downstream and ending 9 miles downstream of the route 132 bridge in Evanston, ND.

The samplingDescription field allows for a text-based/human readable description of the sampling procedures used in the research project. The content of this element would be similar to a description of sampling procedures found in the methods section of a journal article.

A spatial sampling unit describes the specific geographic areas sampled. In the case of a study in which the measurements from several disbursed point collection devices are aggregated, then the sampling unit would be the area of that aggregation. Spatial sampling units can either be described by filling out the structured coverage element or by reference to the values in a data table (usually a GIS layer)
Example(s):
If a researcher places a single light source at a specific point in a research location in order to attract insects to derive an estimate of the insect population, then the sampling unit is the area illuminated by the light source (in actual practice there might be multiple sampling units in this case since different species have different attraction rates).
The bounding box of a specific 3-meter square plot.
The location of a weather station.

A value of a referencedEntityId element is a reference to the identifier of the entity module that provides the metadata for a data table (RDBMS, GIS or ascii text) that has the actual spatial sampling unit values. The referencedEntityId field is an indirect pointer to the actual values. The referencedEntityId can be thought of as a foreign key in a relational database.
Example(s):
x

Structured description of each sampling unit location

The citation field allows to either reference a literature resource or enter structured literature information

The qualityControl field provides a location for the description of actions taken to either control or assess the quality of data resulting from the associated method step. A quality control description should identify a quality goal and describe prescriptive steps taken to ensure that the data meet those standards and/or postscriptive steps taken to assess the extent to which they are met. A quality control statement is associated with the methodStep that could have affected the targeted quality goal.

The description field allows for repeated text that describes the methodology for a project, experiment, or particular data table or to describe the steps taken to control or assure the quality of the data. Likewise, a literature citation may be provided that describes the methodology that was employed. Or the information my be provided by either referencing a protocol resource or entering the structured protocol information
Example(s):
1.Collect tissues from algae of interest. a. We are currently collecting Egregia menziezii, Mazzaella splendens, M. flaccida, Hedophyllum sessile, Postelsia palmaeformis and Fucus gardneri.We stopped collecting Neorhodomela larix and Odonthalia floccosa because they can be heavily fouled and we feared that would skew the results. b. We collect a 7-10 cm blade or branch from each plant. For Egregia, try to sample small, young plants or take the base of the blade. For Postelsia, take a few of the blades. The other plants are small enough so a whole blade can be taken.

The citation field allows to either reference a literature resource or enter structured literature information

The protocol field is used to either reference a protocol resource or describe methods and identify the processes that have been used to define / improve the quality of a data file, also used to identify potential problems with the data file.

The Instrumentation field allows the description of any instruments used in the data collection or quality control and quality assurance. The description should include vendor, model number, optional equipment, etc.
Example(s):
LACHAT analyzer, model XYX.

The software element allows reference to any software used to process data.

This fields allows the nesting of additional method steps within this step. This is useful for hierarchical method descriptions.