Difference between revisions of "Significant characteristics"

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[[Main Page]] > [[Documentation]] > [[Media type preservation plans]] > Significant characteristics
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[[Main Page]] > [[Documentation]] > [[Format policies]] > Significant characteristics
  
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<div style="padding: 10px 10px; border: 1px solid black; background-color: #F79086;">This page is no longer being maintained and may contain inaccurate information. Please see the [https://www.archivematica.org/docs/latest/ Archivematica documentation] for up-to-date information.</div><p>
  
 
== Significant characteristics by media type ==
 
== Significant characteristics by media type ==
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*[[Significant characteristics of raster images|raster images]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of raster images|raster images]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of spreadsheets|spreadsheets]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of spreadsheets|spreadsheets]]
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*[[Significant characteristics of text files|text]]
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*[[Significant characteristics of email|email]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of vector images|vector images]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of vector images|vector images]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of video files|video]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of video files|video]]
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*[[Significant_characteristics_of_websites|websites]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of word processing files|word processing files]]
 
*[[Significant characteristics of word processing files|word processing files]]
  
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== Definitions ==
 
== Definitions ==
  
"Significant characteristics: Those properties of a digital file which have to be known to enable the processing of the file within a specific setup." [http://www.wepreserve.eu/events/nice-2008/programme/presentations/manfred_thaller.pdf Significant Characteristics in Planets]
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Within the Archivematica project, the term 'significant properties' has been superseded by 'significant characteristics' because it has a wider scope, see [http://www.planets-project.eu/docs/papers/Dappert_SignificantCharacteristics_ECDL2009.pdf Significance is in the Eye of the Stakeholder] (Dappert and Farquhar, 2009). It is also more consistent with the terminology used in the [http://planetarium.hki.uni-koeln.de/planets_cms/about-xcl eXtensible Characterization Language]. However, in most instances the two terms ('significant properties' or 'significant characteristics') are largely synonymous and best defined by Andrew Wilson:
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* "Significant properties: the characteristics of digital objects that must be preserved over time in order to ensure the continued accessibility, usability, and meaning of the objects, and their capacity to be accepted as evidence of what they purport to record." [http://www.dpconline.org/docs/events/080407sigpropsWilson.pdf Significant Properties of Digital Objects, Andrew Wilson, National Archives of Australia, 2008, p. 15]
  
NOTE: Within the Archivematica project, the term 'significant properties' has been superseded by 'significant characteristics'. Characteristics is a term that includes intrinsic file properties but also extrinsic behaviours and presentation elements that are only apparent when the file is rendered. It is also more consistent with the terminology used in the [http://planetarium.hki.uni-koeln.de/planets_cms/about-xcl eXtensible Characterization Language]. However, in most instances the two terms ('significant properties' or 'significant characteristics') are synonymous:
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Other definitions:
  
"Significant properties: the characteristics of digital objects that must be preserved over time in order to ensure the continued accessibility, usability, and meaning of the objects, and their capacity to be accepted as evidence of what they purport to record." [http://www.dpconline.org/docs/events/080407sigpropsWilson.pdf Significant Properties of Digital Objects, Andrew Wilson, National Archives of Australia, 2008, p. 15]
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* "Significant Properties: Those technical characteristics agreed by the archive or by the collection manager to be most important for preserving the digital object over time." [http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20050410120000/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/cedars/guideto/collmanagement/index.html Cedars Guide to: Digital Collection Management, 2002, p. 24]   
 
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* "Significant properties are those aspects of a digital record that must be preserved over time in order for it to remain accessible and meaningful." [http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp33-propertiesreport-v1.pdf Framework for the definition of significant properties, Gareth Night, 2008 (Inspect Project document), p. 3]
"Significant Properties: Those technical characteristics agreed by the archive or by the collection manager to be most important for preserving the digital object over time." [http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20050410120000/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/cedars/guideto/collmanagement/index.html Cedars Guide to: Digital Collection Management, 2002, p. 24]   
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* "Transformational Information Property: An Information Property whose preservation is regarded as being necessary but not sufficient to verify that any Non-Reversible Transformation has adequately  reserved information content. This could be important as contributing to evidence about Authenticity. Such Information Properties will need to be associated with specific Representation Information, including Semantic Information, to denote how they are encoded and what they mean. (The term ‘significant property’, which has various definitions in the literature, is sometimes used in a way that is consistent with its being a Transformational Information Property)." [http://public.ccsds.org/sites/cwe/rids/Lists/CCSDS%206500P11/Attachments/650x0p11.pdf OAIS Draft Recommended Standard Pink Book, August 2009, p. 1-15]
 
 
"Significant properties are those aspects of a digital record that must be preserved over time in order for it to remain accessible and meaningful." [http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp33-propertiesreport-v1.pdf Framework for the definition of significant properties, Gareth Night, 2008 (Inspect Project document), p. 3]
 
 
 
"Transformational Information Property: An Information Property whose preservation is regarded as being necessary but not sufficient to verify that any Non-Reversible Transformation has adequately  reserved information content. This could be important as contributing to evidence about Authenticity. Such Information Properties will need to be associated with specific Representation Information, including Semantic Information, to denote how they are encoded and what they mean. (The term ‘significant property’, which has various definitions in the literature, is sometimes used in a way that is consistent with its being a Transformational Information Property)." [http://public.ccsds.org/sites/cwe/rids/Lists/CCSDS%206500P11/Attachments/650x0p11.pdf OAIS Draft Recommended Standard Pink Book, August 2009, p. 1-15]
 
  
 
== Research ==
 
== Research ==
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[http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/ InsPECT: (Investigating the Significant Properties of Electronic Content over Time)]
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*[http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp33-propertiesreport-v1.pdf Framework for the definition of significant properties, Gareth Night, 2008]
  
 
[http://planetarium.hki.uni-koeln.de/planets_cms/about-xcl XCL - eXtensible Characterisation Language]
 
[http://planetarium.hki.uni-koeln.de/planets_cms/about-xcl XCL - eXtensible Characterisation Language]
 
*[http://www.springerlink.com/content/c20150x260758r11/ Significant Characteristics to Abstract Content: Long Term Preservation of Information]
 
*[http://www.springerlink.com/content/c20150x260758r11/ Significant Characteristics to Abstract Content: Long Term Preservation of Information]
 
[http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/ InsPECT: (Investigating the Significant Properties of Electronic Content over Time)]
 
*[http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp33-propertiesreport-v1.pdf Framework for the definition of significant properties, Gareth Night, 2008]
 
  
 
[http://www.planets-project.eu/ PLANETS (Preservation and Long-Term Access through Networked Services)]
 
[http://www.planets-project.eu/ PLANETS (Preservation and Long-Term Access through Networked Services)]
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Other research
 
Other research
 
*[http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/issue/view/7 Data Without Meaning: Establishing the Significant Properties of Digital Research, Gareth Night, Maureen Pennock, The International Journal of Digital Curation, vol. 4, no. 1, 2009]
 
*[http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/issue/view/7 Data Without Meaning: Establishing the Significant Properties of Digital Research, Gareth Night, Maureen Pennock, The International Journal of Digital Curation, vol. 4, no. 1, 2009]
*[http://www.fcla.edu/digitalArchive/pdfs/documentMD.pdf Document Metadata: Document Technical Metadata for Digital Preservation, Florida Digital Archive and Harvard University Library, 2009]
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*[http://fclaweb.fcla.edu/uploads/Lydia%20Motyka/FDA_documentation/documentMD.pdf Document Metadata: Document Technical Metadata for Digital Preservation, Florida Digital Archive and Harvard University Library, 2009]

Latest revision as of 16:33, 11 February 2020

Main Page > Documentation > Format policies > Significant characteristics

This page is no longer being maintained and may contain inaccurate information. Please see the Archivematica documentation for up-to-date information.

Significant characteristics by media type[edit]


Definitions[edit]

Within the Archivematica project, the term 'significant properties' has been superseded by 'significant characteristics' because it has a wider scope, see Significance is in the Eye of the Stakeholder (Dappert and Farquhar, 2009). It is also more consistent with the terminology used in the eXtensible Characterization Language. However, in most instances the two terms ('significant properties' or 'significant characteristics') are largely synonymous and best defined by Andrew Wilson:

Other definitions:

  • "Significant Properties: Those technical characteristics agreed by the archive or by the collection manager to be most important for preserving the digital object over time." Cedars Guide to: Digital Collection Management, 2002, p. 24
  • "Significant properties are those aspects of a digital record that must be preserved over time in order for it to remain accessible and meaningful." Framework for the definition of significant properties, Gareth Night, 2008 (Inspect Project document), p. 3
  • "Transformational Information Property: An Information Property whose preservation is regarded as being necessary but not sufficient to verify that any Non-Reversible Transformation has adequately reserved information content. This could be important as contributing to evidence about Authenticity. Such Information Properties will need to be associated with specific Representation Information, including Semantic Information, to denote how they are encoded and what they mean. (The term ‘significant property’, which has various definitions in the literature, is sometimes used in a way that is consistent with its being a Transformational Information Property)." OAIS Draft Recommended Standard Pink Book, August 2009, p. 1-15

Research[edit]

InsPECT: (Investigating the Significant Properties of Electronic Content over Time)

XCL - eXtensible Characterisation Language

PLANETS (Preservation and Long-Term Access through Networked Services)

JISC

Other research