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getMetadata API

The getMetadata API provides access to the contents of the Search Index underpinning the RDA Registry. This effectively offers open access to the same infrastructure which powers the search and browsing capabilities in Research Data Australia.

Using this powerful API, your application can perform complex search queries, retrieving the indexed data values as well as performing aggregations and simple spatial searches.

This service is different to the other RDA Registry APIs in that it principally returns a JSON representation of the metadata fields and not the original RIF-CS XML.
This allows you to easily restrict what data fields you want to retrieve in order to optimise your application’s performance.

Usage

Before you start!  To use this service, institutions or individuals must  register for a free API key .

Resource URL

 

CODE
http://researchdata.edu.au/registry/services/{YOUR API KEY}/getMetadata?{params}

 

  • This API is a RESTful Web Service. Simply replace the blue parameters with the appropriate values and issue a HTTP GET request.
  • Replace {YOUR API KEY} with the key your organisation registered (no API key? register for free)
  • Replace {params} with some combination of the parameters below. Note: all parameter values must be URL-encoded.
  • By default, results are limited to 10 records per request. Use the start and rows parameters to step through additional results.

Service Parameters

These parameters have the same meaning as defined by  SOLR Common Query Parameters  (SOLR  enterprise search server ).

 

ParameterDescriptionExample Usage
qThe q parameter is normally the main query for the request.

 

All values of q must be URL-encoded. It is also recommended that string values are surrounded by quotes.

By default, the field separator is “OR” unless “AND” is explicitly specified (see example usage #4).

1. Matching all records (i.e. unrestricted search):
q=*:*2. Matching records based on a particular field:
q=class:(collection)

 

3. Matching multiple field values (OR):
q=class:(collection OR party)

4. Matching on multiple fields (AND):
q=class:(collection) AND group_search("Monash")

5. Wildcard searching on string fields:
q=title_search:(*survey*)

See Indexed Fields for more options.

flRestricts the metadata fields which are returned by the search query.

 

By default, the following fields are returned:
id,key,slug,display_title,class

1. Select only keys and record titles:
?fl=key,display_title2. Select all information about related objects:
?fl=key,related_object_*

 

2. Select all fields which are indexed:
?fl=*

sortSorting can be done on any indexed field which only has single values. Sort can be either: desc or asc.

 

Note: Fields which are indexed as string or integers are sortable. Other field types may produce unexpected results.

1. Sort based on key in ascending order:
q=*:*&sort=key asc2. Sort based on update time in descending order (most recent first):
q=key:*:*&sort=update_timestamp desc

start
rows
This parameter is used to paginate results from a query.

 

When specified, it indicates the offset in the complete result set for where the set of returned documents should begin and end.

By default, results start at 0 with 20 rows displayed. That is, by default only 20 rows are displayed in response to a search query.

1. Display the first 20 records with a key starting AODN:

 

q=key:AODN*

2. Display the next 20 records with a key starting AODN:

q=key:AODN*&start=20

3. Display 100 records starting from number 1000:

q=*:*&start=1000&rows=100


facet
facet.field

 

facet.mincount

Faceting mode is analogous to aGROUP BY statement in SQL.

 

When specified, faceting mode will retrict the resultset based on your query and then display the field value
and count of records matching that field value.

1. Display the number of records for each group, where the group has 10 or more records.

 

?facet=on&facet.field=group&facet.mincount=10

2. Display the number of records for each group (collections only)

?facet=on&facet.field=group&q=class:(collection)

Response Format

 

  • By default, responses from this service are returned in JSON format which is almost identical to the SOLR JSON Response Writer. The service can also return a response in XML format by replacing /getMetadata with /getMetadata.xml in the request URI.
  • If the query was malformed or invalid, the service will return an error response in the content. The service does not currently support HTTP status headers.

Example Usage

Return collection records from a particular group/organisation

Return metadata for 3 records of class “collection” which have the group attribute “Australian Ocean Data Network”:

CODE
getMetadata?q=class:(collection) AND group_search:("Australian Ocean Data Network")&rows=3

URL

Response

JS
{
  status: "success",
  message: {
    numFound: 30890,
    start: 0,
    docs: [
      {
	slug: "aims-weather-station-data-cleveland-bay-platform-rain-from-03-jul-1990",
	key: "AODN:c9cb7389-7af1-4e0a-8c95-6f295f1cec1e",
	id: "128152",
	display_title: "AIMS Weather Station Data - Cleveland Bay Platform - From 03 Jul 1990",
	class: "collection"
      },
      {
	slug: "temperature-logger-data-at-penguin-is-east-from-15-may-2012",
	key: "AODN:147b75a3-be17-4c7f-b12d-dbda75446fa1",
	id: "128153",
	display_title: "Temperature Logger Data at Penguin Is East, From 15 May 2012 ",
	class: "collection"
      },
      {
	slug: "assessing-habitat-damage-caused-by-the-grounding-of-the-shen-neng-1-on-douglas",
	key: "AODN:2bf0e568-935d-42fd-9e8b-d946e308d8ba",
	id: "128154",
	display_title: "Assessing habitat damage caused by the grounding of the Shen Neng 1 on Douglas Shoal, southern Great Barrier Reef, using towed video (Towvid)",
	class: "collection"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Displaying all metadata about a particular record

Return all the indexed metadata about a particular collection:

CODE
getMetadata?q=key:("AODN/e9317990-0366-49f0-bf95-bbc27c4d1db8")&fl=* 

URL

Response

JS
{

    "status": "success",
    "message": {
        "numFound": "1",
        "start": "0",
        "docs": [{
            "id": "1332596",
            "slug": "rv-investigator-voyage-in2017e04-gravity",
            "key": "AODN/e9317990-0366-49f0-bf95-bbc27c4d1db8",
            "status": "PUBLISHED",
            "data_source_id": "16",
            "display_title": "RV Investigator Voyage IN2017_E04 Gravity Data",
            "title": "RV Investigator Voyage IN2017_E04 Gravity Data",
            "list_title": "RV Investigator Voyage IN2017_E04 Gravity Data",
            "list_title_sort": "RV Investigator Voyage IN2017_E04 Gravity Data",
            "group": "Australian Ocean Data Network",
            "group_search": "Australian Ocean Data Network",
            "group_sort": "Australian Ocean Data Network",
            "class": "collection",
            "type": "dataset",
            "type_sort": "dataset",
            "quality_level": "2",
            "originating_source": "http://www.marlin.csiro.au",
            "record_modified_timestamp": "2018-07-13T01:18:45Z",
            "record_created_timestamp": "2018-07-13T01:18:45Z",
            "simplified_title": "RV Investigator Voyage IN2017_E04 Gravity Data",
            "description_type": ["full"],
            "description_value": ["This record describes gravity data collected on RV Investigator voyage IN2017_E04, Trials voyage, which departed Hobart on the 7th of December 2017 and returned to Hobart on the 11th of December 2017. The gravity meter instrument is a MicroG Lacoste Air-Sea II. Data are stored in .ENV and .DAT data files at CSIRO. There are 6 files totalling 25.2 MB of raw data in this dataset. No processing has been conducted on this data. Additional information regarding this dataset is contained in the GSM data acquisition and processing report."],
            "list_description": "This record describes gravity data collected on RV Investigator voyage IN2017_E04, Trials voyage, which departed Hobart on the 7th of December 2017 and returned to Hobart on the 11th of December 2017. The gravity meter instrument is a MicroG Lacoste Air-Sea II. Data are stored in .ENV and .DAT data files at CSIRO. There are 6 files totalling 25.2 MB of raw data in this dataset. No processing has been conducted on this data. Additional information regarding this dataset is contained in the GSM data acquisition and processing report.",
            "description": "This record describes gravity data collected on RV Investigator voyage IN2017_E04, Trials voyage, which departed Hobart on the 7th of December 2017 and returned to Hobart on the 11th of December 2017.<br /> <br /> The gravity meter instrument is a MicroG Lacoste Air-Sea II. Data are stored in .ENV and .DAT data files at CSIRO. There are 6 files totalling 25.2 MB of raw data in this dataset. <br /> <br /> No processing has been conducted on this data.<br /> <br /> Additional information regarding this dataset is contained in the GSM data acquisition and processing report.",
            "access_rights": "other",
            "license_class": "open licence",
            "identifier_value": [
                "e9317990-0366-49f0-bf95-bbc27c4d1db8",
                "http://www.marlin.csiro.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/search?uuid=e9317990-0366-49f0-bf95-bbc27c4d1db8"
            ],
            "identifier_value_search": [
                "e9317990-0366-49f0-bf95-bbc27c4d1db8",
                "http://www.marlin.csiro.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/search?uuid=e9317990-0366-49f0-bf95-bbc27c4d1db8"
            ],
            "identifier_type": [
                "global",
                "uri"
            ],
            "related_info_search": ["http://www.cmar.csiro.au/data/gsm/gsm_extract.cfm?survey=IN2017_E04&amp;instrument=AASII Geophysical Survey and Mapping website information for this data set Geophysical Survey and Mapping website information for this data set and link to downloading data. http://www.cmar.csiro.au/data/trawler/survey_list.cfm?source_id=309 RV Investigator survey information RV Investigator survey information http://mnf.csiro.au/ MNF home page Marine National Facility home page http://www.cmar.csiro.au/data/gsm/get_report.cfm?survey=in2017_e04 Geophysical Survey and Mapping acquisition report Geophysical Survey and Mapping acquisition report "],
            "spatial_coverage_extents": ["147 -43.5 150 -42.5 "],
            "spatial_coverage_polygons": ["150,-42.5 150,-43.5 147,-43.5 147,-42.5 150,-42.5"],
            "spatial_coverage_centres": ["148.5,-43"],
            "spatial_coverage_extents_wkt": ["POLYGON((150 -42.5, 150 -43.5, 147 -43.5, 147 -42.5, 150 -42.5))"],
            "spatial_coverage_area_sum": "3",
            "date_from": ["2017-12-07T06:25:00Z"],
            "date_to": ["2017-12-12T16:15:00Z"],
            "earliest_year": "2017",
            "latest_year": "2017",
            "subject_value_resolved": [
                "oceans",
                "geoscientificInformation",
                "Ship: Investigator (RV)",
                "Marine National Facility",
                "Gear Trials: IN2017_E04",
                "MARINE GRAVITY FIELD",
                "EARTH SCIENCE",
                "OCEANS",
                "MARINE GEOPHYSICS",
                "Marine Features (Australia) | Derwent Estuary, TAS",
                "Coastal Waters (Australia) | Tasmania Coast, TAS",
                "Gravity meters"
            ],
            "s_subject_value_resolved": [
                "oceans",
                "geoscientificInformation",
                "Ship: Investigator (RV)",
                "Marine National Facility",
                "Gear Trials: IN2017_E04",
                "MARINE GRAVITY FIELD",
                "EARTH SCIENCE",
                "OCEANS",
                "MARINE GEOPHYSICS",
                "Marine Features (Australia) | Derwent Estuary, TAS",
                "Coastal Waters (Australia) | Tasmania Coast, TAS",
                "Gravity meters"
            ],
            "subject_value_resolved_search": [
                "oceans",
                "geoscientificInformation",
                "Ship: Investigator (RV)",
                "Marine National Facility",
                "Gear Trials: IN2017_E04",
                "MARINE GRAVITY FIELD",
                "EARTH SCIENCE",
                "OCEANS",
                "MARINE GEOPHYSICS",
                "Marine Features (Australia) | Derwent Estuary, TAS",
                "Coastal Waters (Australia) | Tasmania Coast, TAS",
                "Gravity meters"
            ],
            "subject_value_resolved_sort": [
                "oceans",
                "geoscientificInformation",
                "Ship: Investigator (RV)",
                "Marine National Facility",
                "Gear Trials: IN2017_E04",
                "MARINE GRAVITY FIELD",
                "EARTH SCIENCE",
                "OCEANS",
                "MARINE GEOPHYSICS",
                "Marine Features (Australia) | Derwent Estuary, TAS",
                "Coastal Waters (Australia) | Tasmania Coast, TAS",
                "Gravity meters"
            ],
            "subject_value_unresolved": [
                "oceans",
                "geoscientificInformation",
                "Ship: Investigator (RV)",
                "Marine National Facility",
                "Gear Trials: IN2017_E04",
                "Marine Gravity Field",
                "EARTH SCIENCE",
                "OCEANS",
                "MARINE GEOPHYSICS",
                "Marine Features (Australia) | Derwent Estuary, TAS",
                "Coastal Waters (Australia) | Tasmania Coast, TAS",
                "Gravity meters"
            ],
            "subject_type": [
                "local",
                "local",
                "local",
                "local",
                "local",
                "gcmd",
                "gcmd",
                "gcmd",
                "gcmd",
                "local",
                "local",
                "local"
            ],
            "subject_vocab_uri": [
                "urn:marlin.csiro.au:sourceregister:concept:309",
                "urn:marlin.csiro.au:keywords:cmarAOI:concept:3208",
                "urn:marlin.csiro.au:surveyregister:concept:2191",
                "http://gcmdservices.gsfc.nasa.gov/kms/concept/ad09b215-e837-4d9f-acbc-2b45e5b81825",
                "http://gcmdservices.gsfc.nasa.gov/kms/concept/e9f67a66-e9fc-435c-b720-ae32a2c3d8f5",
                "http://gcmdservices.gsfc.nasa.gov/kms/concept/91697b7d-8f2b-4954-850e-61d5f61c867d",
                "http://gcmdservices.gsfc.nasa.gov/kms/concept/bb04ee83-bf49-4f96-898d-20bb6e92bc93",
                "urn:aodn.org.au:geographicextents:concept:69",
                "urn:aodn.org.au:geographicextents:concept:1010",
                "urn:marlin.csiro.au:Equipment:concept:168"
            ],
            "subject_gcmd": [
                "MARINE GRAVITY FIELD",
                "EARTH SCIENCE",
                "OCEANS",
                "MARINE GEOPHYSICS"
            ],
            "tsubject_keywords": [
                "oceans",
                "geoscientificInformation",
                "Ship: Investigator (RV)",
                "Marine National Facility",
                "Gear Trials: IN2017_E04",
                "MARINE GRAVITY FIELD",
                "Marine Features (Australia) | Derwent Estuary, TAS",
                "Coastal Waters (Australia) | Tasmania Coast, TAS",
                "Gravity meters"
            ],
            "tsubject_gcmd": [
                "EARTH SCIENCE",
                "OCEANS",
                "MARINE GEOPHYSICS"
            ],
            "access_methods_ss": ["other"],
            "related_party_multi_id": ["678109"],
            "related_party_multi_title": ["CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere - Information and Data Centre"],
            "related_party_multi_search": ["CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere - Information and Data Centre"],
            "relationType_pointOfContact_id": ["678109"],
            "_version_": "1608131177507454976"
        }]
    },
    "benchmark": []
}
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