Scholix metadata schema for exchange of scholarly links
The aim of the Scholix initiative is to find consensus on solutions to facilitate the exchange of information about semantic links between datasets and literature objects, which is key for reusability and reproducibility of science. The main outcome of this work, resulting from a collaboration between academic institutions, research institutions, scholarly communication service providers, and publishers, is the Scholix metadata schema. It is a data model that aims to capture the fundamental concepts underlying a relationship between two objects, as sketched in Figure 1. The molding principles of the data model were a good trade-off between:
- lightweight metadata: the data model includes a set of properties that are common to all use-case scenarios and disciplines;
- optimal consumption: the data model includes a set of properties that do not require reification via the persistent identifier of the object and ensure straightforward reuse in most cases;
- collection provenance: the data model includes properties to describe the provenance of the link metadata.
Figure 1. Scholix data model sketch
The Scholix Link Information Package, sketched in Figure 2, contains:
- metadata about the source and target objects, e.g. title, authors, date of publication;
- metadata about the semantics of the link;
- metadata about the link package itself, e.g. date, issuer, rights.
Figure 2. Link information package properties
The Scholix metadata schema is the list of all the properties in a Scholix link information package along with their definitions, structure, and occurrence rules. Many of the properties are optional; the schema is designed to allow bulk exchange of link information with a minimum of information relevant to the link being mandatory.
The development of the schema began in 2016. The Scholix Guidelines Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 were issued as draft schemas. Version 3.0 was issued at the end of 2017 (see below) and is the first version of the schema to be used operationally.
Scholix Metadata Schema 3.0
Version 3.0 issued 21 November 2017.
Version 3.0 issued 21 November 2017.
Scholix Metadata Schema 4.0
Version 4.0 issued 14 March 2022.
Version 4.0 issued 14 March 2022.
