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RIF-CS Vocabularies

Introduction

In the RIF-CS schema, each element has attributes, usually ‘Types’, which refine that element's broader meaning. The following vocabularies provide recommended terms to use with each of the attributes in the schema. Use of consistent terminology improves data discoverability and search precision. These vocabularies are also available from Research Vocabularies Australia including as widgets. Please contact services@ardc.edu.au if you have candidate terms to be evaluated for possible inclusion in the RIF-CS vocabularies.

Updates

The RIF-CS vocabularies are not subject to version control and changes to vocabularies are not linked or tied to RIF-CS schema versions (although these may occur at the same time as changes in the schema). Vocabulary changes or the addition of new vocabulary types occur on an ongoing basis. User-defined terms are allowed for most elements, therefore use of deprecated vocabularies do not cause any problems for Research Data Australia contributors.

See RIF-CS Vocabularies Updates for details of past vocabulary changes.

Vocabularies for Registry Schema

Last modified: 17 Sep 2025

Access Rights Type (collection)

  • open: data is publicly accessible online

  • conditional: data is publicly accessible subject to certain conditions. For example:

    • a fee applies;

    • the data is only accessible at a specific physical location.

  • restricted: data access is limited. For example:

    • during an embargo period;

    • to a particular group of users;

    • where formal permission is granted.

Activity Relation Type (activity)

  • hasAssociationWith: has an unspecified relationship with the related registry object

  • hasOutput: delivers materials in the related collection

  • hasPart: contains the related activity

  • hasParticipant: is undertaken by the related party

  • hasPrincipalInvestigator: is researched by the related party

  • isFundedBy: receives monetary or in-kind aid from the related program

  • isInvestedBy: receives monetary or in-kind aid from the related coinvestment program **new

  • isManagedBy: is organised and/or delivered by the related party

  • isOwnedBy: legally belongs to the related party

  • isPartOf: is contained in the related activity

Activity Type (activity)

  • award: something given to recognize excellence in a certain field

  • course: education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings

  • event: something that happens at a particular place or time as an organized activity with participants or an audience

  • grant: a funding grant awarded to partially or fully fund a research project, research facility, research program, equipment grant, fellowship, traineeship etc

  • investment: a funding coinvestment to partially fund a research project **new

  • program: a system of activities intended to meet a public need

  • project: a piece of work that is undertaken or attempted, with a start and end date and defined objectives

Arg Type (service)

  • string: indicates the value of an argument is a plain text string

  • object: indicates the value of an argument is an object, most likely in serialized form

Arg Use (service)

  • inline: indicates the argument forms part of the base URL

  • keyValue: indicates the argument is passed using key-value pairings in the query component of a URL

Citation Date Type (activity collection party service)

  • publicationDate: the date when the data was or will be made publicly available

  • available: the date the resource is made publicly available. May be a range, or indicate the end of an embargo period

  • created: the date the resource itself was put together; this could be a date range or a single date for a final component, e.g. the finalised file with all of the data

  • date: any relevant date not otherwise specified

  • dateAccepted: the date that the publisher accepted the resource into their system

  • dateSubmitted: the date the creator submits the resource to the publisher. This could be different from dateAccepted if the publisher then applies a selection process

  • endPublicationDate: use when publicationDate is a range

  • issued: the date that the resource is published or distributed e.g. to a data centre

  • modified: the date of the last update to the resource, when the resource is being added to (equivalent to Datacite 'Updated')

  • startPublicationDate: use when publicationDate is a range

  • valid: the date or date range during which the dataset or resources are accurate

Citation Style (activity collection party service)

  • Harvard: Harvard University

  • APA: American Psychological Association

  • MLA: Modern Language Association of America

  • Vancouver: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors

  • IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

  • CSE: Council of Science Editors

  • Chicago: Chicago Manual of Style

  • AMA: American Medical Association

  • AGPS-AGIMO: Australian Style Manual

  • AGLC: Australian Guide to Legal Citation

  • ACS: American Chemical Society

  • DataCite: International Data Citation

Collection Relation Type (collection)

  • describes: is a catalogue for, or index of, of items in the related collection

  • hasPart: contains the related collection

  • hasAssociationWith: has an unspecified relationship with the related registry object

  • hasCollector: has been collected, generated, created or aggregated by the related party

  • hasPrincipalInvestigator: is researched by the related party

  • hasVersion: versioned by the related collection

  • isDescribedBy: is catalogued or indexed by the related collection

  • isLocatedIn: is held in the related repository

  • isLocationFor: is the repository where the related collection is held

  • isManagedBy: is maintained and made accessible by the related party

  • isOutputOf: is a product of the related activity

  • isOwnedBy: legally belongs to the related party

  • isPartOf: is contained within the related collection

  • isVersionOf: is a version of the related collection

  • supports: can be contributed to, accessed or used through the related service

  • isEnrichedBy: additional value provided to a collection by a party

  • isDerivedFrom: collection is derived from the related collection, e.g. through analysis

  • hasDerivedCollection: the related collection is derived from the collection, e.g. through analysis

  • isAvailableThrough: is available through the related discovery service (specialisation of isSupportedBy type - for Harvest, Search and Syndicate)

  • isProducedBy: is produced by the related creation service (specialisation of isSupportedBy type - for Create, Generate, Assemble, Transform output)

  • isPresentedBy: is presented by the related creation service (specialisation of isSupportedBy type - for Report)

  • isOperatedOnBy: is operated on by the related creation service (specialisation of isSupportedBy type - for Transform input)

  • hasValueAddedBy: is added to by the related metadata service (specialisation of supports type - for Annotate)

Collection Relation Type (publication)

  • isCitedBy: indicates that B includes A in a citation

  • isReferencedBy: indicates A is used as a source of information by B

  • isDocumentedBy: indicates B is documentation about/explaining A

  • isSupplementedBy: indicates that A is a supplement to B

  • isSupplementTo: indicates that B is a supplement to A

  • isReviewedBy: the cited entity presents statements, ideas or conclusions that are reviewed by the citing entity

  • isSupportedBy: the cited entity receives intellectual or factual support from the citing entity

Collection Type (collection)

  • catalogueOrIndex: collection of resource descriptions describing the content of one or more repositories or collective works

  • classificationScheme: a list or arrangement of terms used in a particular context eg. ontologies, thesauri

  • collection: compiled content created as separate and independent works and assembled into a collective whole for distribution and use

  • dataset: collection of physical or digital objects generated by research activities

  • publication: scholarly material consisting mainly of written text eg. journal publications, book chapters

  • registry: collection of registry objects compiled to support the business of a given community

  • repository: collection of physical or digital objects compiled for information and documentation purposes and/or for storage and safekeeping

  • software: one or more items that collectively represent a software product; including computer instructions (ranging in format from machine code to high-level programming languages); and associated non-executable items such as documentation

Date Format (activity collection party service)

  • W3CDTF: W3C Date Time Format

Date Type (activity collection service)

  • dateFrom: start date for a date range

  • dateTo: end date for a date range

Dates Type (collection)

  • dc.available: Date (often a range) that the collection became or will become available

  • dc.created: Date of creation of the collection

  • dc.dateAccepted: Date of acceptance of the collection

  • dc.dateSubmitted: Date of submission of the collection

  • dc.issued: Date of formal issuance (e.g.publication) of the collection

  • dc.valid: Date (often a range) of validity of the collection

Description Type (activity collection party service)

  • brief: short account for selection purposes

  • full: full account

  • logo: (deprecated) symbol used as an identifying mark

  • note: a brief informational message, not object metadata, to notify the record consumer of some important aspect regarding the object or its metadata

  • deliveryMethod: (service only) information about how the service is delivered. Should be one of: webservice, software, offline, workflow

  • significanceStatement: (collection only) a statement describing the significance of a collection within its domain or context

  • researchAreas: (deprecated) text describing a contributor organisation's distinctive research portfolio and research strengths

  • researchDataProfile: (deprecated) text describing and highlighting the research data (and related parties, projects and services) whose description the organisation has contributed to Research Data Australia.

  • researchSupport: (deprecated) text describing specific data-related support services offered by the contributor organisation such as archives, repositories, data centres, metadata stores, high performance computing facilities, data-intensive instruments, e-research support centres, data management support services, etc.

  • lineage: (collection only) text describing the collection lineage such as process steps and source data used.

  • fundingAmount: (activity of type 'grant' only) total amount of funding in Australian dollars approved by the funder for this particular research grant. It can also be used for activity records of type 'project' or 'program' supplied by a research institution or agency, where it would contain the total project budget if this information is available.

  • fundingScheme: (activity of type 'grant' only) funding scheme under which the research funding was awarded.

  • researchers: (activity of type 'grant' only) persons participating as a Chief Investigator, Partner Investigator or Fellow.

Electronic Address Type (activity collection party service)

  • email: string used to receive messages by means of a computer network

  • other: other electronic address

  • url: Uniform Resource Locator

Electronic Target (collection)

  • landingPage: electronic URL value points to the metadata for the collection

  • directDownload : electronic URL value triggers a direct download

Identifier Type (activity collection party service)

  • abn: Australian Business Number

  • arc: Australian Research Council identifier

  • ark: Archival Resource Key

  • AU-ANL:PEAU: National Library of Australia identifier

  • doi: Digital Object Identifier

  • ean13: International Article Number

  • eissn: electronic International Standard Serial Number

  • fundref: Crossref funder identifier in Open Funder Registry

  • grid: Global Research Identifier Database (discontinued)

  • handle: Handle System Identifier

  • igsn: International Generic Sample Number

  • infouri: 'info' URI scheme (discontinued)

  • isbn: International Standard Book Number

  • isil: International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations

  • isni: International Standard Name Identifier

  • issn: International Standard Serial Number

  • istc: International Standard Text Code (discontinued)

  • lissn: linking International Standard Serial Number

  • local: identifer unique within a local context

  • mediaType: Media Type (formerly MIME type) from the IANA Registry

  • nhmrc: National Health and Medical Research Council grant identifier

  • orcid: Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier

  • pubMedId: US National Library of Medicine PubMed Identifier

  • purl: Persistent Uniform Resource Locator

  • raid: Research Activity Identifier

  • researcherID: Web of Science Researcher Identifier

  • ror: Research Organization Registry identifier

  • scopusID: Scopus Author Identifier

  • upc: Universal Product Code

  • uri: Uniform Resource Identifier

  • urn: Uniform Resource Name

Licence Type (collection service)

  • CC0: No Rights Reserved

  • CC-BY: Attribution

  • CC-BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

  • CC-BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives

  • CC-BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial

  • CC-BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

  • CC-BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

  • GPL: General Public License

  • AusGoalRestrictive: AusGoal Restrictive Licence (discontinued)

  • NoLicence: No licence

  • Unknown/Other: Unknown or custom licence

Name Part Type (party)

  • family: (person) last name or surname

  • given: (person) forename or given or Christian name or initials

  • suffix: (person) honours, awards, qualifications and other identifiers conferred

  • title: (person) word or phrase indicative of rank, office, nobility, honour, etc., or a term of address

  • superior: part of a name that describes a party (group) that contains one or more integral subordinate parties (sub-groups or sub-units)

  • subordinate: part of a name that describes a party (group) that is an integral sub-group or sub-unit of a superior party (group)

Name Type (activity collection party service)

  • primary: official name of the registry object

  • abbreviated: shortened form of, or acronym for, the official name

  • alternative: any other form of name used now or in the past as a substitute or alternative for the official name

Originating Source Type (registry object)

  • authoritative: the source that holds the authoritative version of the metadata about the registry object

Party Relation Type (party)

  • hasAssociationWith: has an unspecified relationship with the related registry object

  • hasMember: (group) has enrolled the related party (person)

  • hasPart: contains the related party (group)

  • isCollectorOf: has collected, generated, created or aggregated the related collection

  • isFundedBy: receives monetary or in-kind aid from the related party or activity (program)

  • isFunderOf: provides monetary or in-kind aid to the related party or activity (program)

  • isManagedBy: is overseen by the related party

  • isManagerOf: oversees the related party or administers the related collection or activity

  • isMemberOf: (person) is enrolled in the related party (group)

  • isOwnedBy: legally belongs to the related party

  • isOwnerOf: legally possesses the related activity, collection, service or party (group)

  • isPartOf: is contained in the related party (group)

  • isParticipantIn: is enrolled in the related activity

  • isPrincipalInvestigatorOf: is researched by the related party

  • enriches: provides additional value to a collection

Party Type (party)

  • group: one or more persons acting as a family, group, association, partnership, corporation, institution or agency

  • person: human being or identity assumed by one or more human beings

  • administrativePosition: a kind of party where the position name and contact information are present but the identity of the party filling the role is not specified.

Physical Address Part Type (activity collection party service)

  • addressLine: an address part that is a separate line of a structured address

  • text: a single address part that contains the whole address in unstructured form

  • telephoneNumber: an address part that contains a telephone number including a mobile telephone number

  • faxNumber: an address part that contains a fax (facsimile) number

Physical Address Type (activity collection party service)

  • streetAddress: address where an entity is physically located

  • postalAddress: address where mail for an entity should be sent

Related Information Type (activity collection party service)

  • activity: an undertaking or process related to the creation, update, or maintenance of a collection

  • collection: an aggregation of digital and/or physical resources which has meaning in a research context

  • dataQualityInformation: data quality statements or summaries of data quality issues affecting the data.

  • metadata: an alternative metadata format for the object (i.e. in a schema other than RIF-CS)

  • party: a person, group or role related to the creation, update, or maintenance of a collection, to an activity, or to the provision of a service

  • publication: any formally published document, whether available in digital or online form or not

  • provenance: information about how the data being described was derived or produced; including events (creation, assemble, annotate, and transform etc), when and where an event happened, which instruments or software were used and who was involved

  • reuseInformation: information that supports reuse of data, such as data definitions, instrument calibration or settings, units of measurement, sample descriptions, experimental parameters, methodology, data analysis techniques, or data derivation rules.

  • service: a system (analogue or digital) that provides one or more functions of value to an end user

  • website: any publicly accessible web location containing information related to the collection, activity, party or service

Service Relation Type (service)

  • hasAssociationWith: has an unspecified relationship with the related registry object

  • hasPart: contains the related service

  • isManagedBy: is overseen by the related party

  • isOwnedBy: legally belongs to the related party

  • isPartOf: is contained in the related service

  • isSupportedBy: enables contribution or access to, or use of, the related collection

  • makesAvailable: discovery service that makes available the related collection (specialisation of supports type - for Harvest, Search, Syndicate)

  • produces: creation service that produces the related collection (specialisation of supports type - for Create, Generate, Assemble, Transform output)

  • presents: creation service that presents the related collection (specialisation of supports type - for Report)

  • operatesOn: creation service that operates on the related collection (specialisation of supports type - for Transform input)

  • addsValueTo: metadata service that adds value to the related collection (specialisation of isSupportedBy type - for Annotate)

Service Type (service)

  • annotate: provides commentary on a data object, or part thereof

  • assemble: builds a new data object instance composed of multiple existing data objects

  • create: produces a new data object representing existing phenomena in the world, including physical reality and user input

  • ESRI:ArcGIS:GPServer: ArcGIS GPS Server

  • ESRI:ArcGIS:ImageServer: ArcGIS Image Server

  • ESRI:ArcGIS:MapServer: ArcGIS Map Server

  • generate: produces a new data object out of mathematical formulae and parameters, rather than capturing and representing existing data in the world

  • harvest-oaipmh: Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)

  • OGC:WCS: Open Geospatial Consortium Web Coverage Service (WCS)

  • OGC:WFS: Open Geospatial Consortium Web Feature Service (WFS)

  • OGC:WMS: Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Service (WMS)

  • OGC:WMTS: Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Tile Service (WMTS)

  • OGC:WPS: Open Geospatial Consortium Web Processing Service (WPS)

  • OPeNDAP: Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol service (OPeNDAP)

  • report: presents existing data in a summary form

  • search-http: Search service over HTTP (RFC 9112)

  • search-opensearch: OpenSearch search service

  • search-sru: SRU search protocol

  • search-srw: SRW search protocol

  • search-z3950: z39.50 search protocol

  • store: provides infrastructure for the storage of a data object

  • syndicate-atom: atom syndication (RFC 4287)

  • syndicate-rss: RSS web feed syndication

  • THREDDS: Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services (THREDDS)

  • transform: changes an existing data object into a new data object with a distinct format

Spatial Type (activity collection party service)

  • dcmiPoint: spatial location information for a point in space specified in DCMI Point Encoding Scheme

  • gmlKmlPolyCoords: a set of KML long/lat coordinates derived from GML (OpenGIS Geography Markup Language) defining a polygon, as described by the KML coordinates element but without the altitude component

  • gpx: GPS Exchange XML Format for interchange of GPS data on the internet

  • iso31661: ISO 3166-1 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions - Part 1: Country codes

  • iso31662: ISO 3166-2 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions - Part 2: Country subdivision codes

  • iso31663: ISO 3166-3 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions - Part 3: Code for formerly used names of countries

  • iso19139dcmiBox: DCMI Box Encoding Scheme derived from bounding box metadata conformant with the ISO/TS 19139-1 schema

  • kmlPolyCoords: a set of KML long/lat coordinates defining a polygon as described by the KML coordinates element

  • text: free-text representation of spatial location

Subject Type (activity collection party service)

  • anzsrc-for: Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification: Fields of Research codes

  • anzsrc-seo: Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification: Socio-Economic Objectives codes

  • anzsrc-toa: Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification: Type of Activity codes

  • apt: Australian Pictorial Thesaurus

  • gcmd: Global Change Master Directory Keywords

  • iso639: International Standard for language codes

  • local: local subject keyword

  • pont: Powerhouse Museum Object Name Thesaurus

  • psychit: Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms

  • scot: Schools Online Thesaurus

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