PEP-6

[clnsmth]

Our team met out of band to discuss PEP-6. Here are some notes from that conversation highlighting potential areas for further discussion.

Dataset Level Annotations

• Current Behavior: We already display dataset-level annotations on the detailed metadata page. For example, see the External Annotations section at the bottom of the detailed metadata page for knb-lter-ble.32.1. PEP-6 proposes displaying them again, so this might be redundant.

Attribute Level Annotations

• Recommendation: PEP-6 recommends placing attribute-level annotations in a general Annotation field. We suggest displaying them closer to their associated element in the "Data Entities" section of the detailed metadata page. For example, annotations for the "methods" field could be shown near it, clarifying how the attribute was created. Similarly, annotations for the "units" field could be displayed under the "units" field to explain the unit of measurement.

Clarity and User Understanding

• Issue: PEP-6 introduces a general "annotations" field, but data consumers might not understand its meaning. It's important to clarify what kind of information these annotations provide.

• Suggestion: Consider adding a definition of "annotations" for user clarity.

Data Package Landing Page

• Challenge: Including all annotations in a standardized format would likely clutter the landing page.

• Recommendation: We should discuss which, if any, annotations are most relevant for the landing page. These could be displayed in a user-friendly format, similar to how provenance metadata is currently presented.

[clnsmth]

Some thoughts on the comments above ...

Dataset-Level Annotations

The current implementation of the "External Annotations" collapsible section at the bottom of the page presents two key issues:

1. It introduces the term "External Annotations," which is one of three annotation presentation methods, potentially causing confusion.
2. It uses a different presentation pattern than other annotations, including the subject in the annotation triple (e.g., "Dataset isAbout leachate"). Other annotation locations on the detailed metadata page simply display the field to which the annotation applies.

A potential solution is to deprecate the current implementation in favor of the approach proposed in the PEP. This will improve consistency and user understanding.

Attribute-Level Annotations

Placing annotations within existing attribute fields will improve information consumption. However, there are two challenges:

1. Data package annotation in EDI is still evolving, leading to potential variance in user-defined predicates (e.g., createdByMethod, hasMethod). Consistently mapping these diverse predicates to specific attribute metadata fields (e.g., "Methods") will be challenging and may result in information loss.
2. Users may create annotations that fall outside the current set of attribute metadata fields. While we will recommend a standard set of predicates, we cannot restrict users from employing others relevant to their specific communities. These additional annotations may lack a corresponding category, resulting in their omission from the detailed metadata page.

Therefore, a phased approach is recommended: Initially, we will implement a general "Annotations" field for all attribute-level annotations, as proposed in the PEP. As community annotation practices mature and converge, we can then confidently map annotations to the appropriate fields already displayed on the detailed metadata pages.

Clarity and User Understanding

The term "annotation" may be unfamiliar to some users. To address this, a solution could be adding a "hover-over" icon next to the "Annotations" field. Hovering over this icon will display a brief explanation of what an annotation is and its importance.