Database

Building and Using the Database

The Nisaba database is based upon a three-tier organisation model. We have called these tiers Collections, *Items, and Segments, but you can conceive of them any way you wish!

Every time you create a new record (at any level) the item will be encoded with a user and creation timestamp to establish provenance. All later modifications to metadata or content will receive individual provenance markings and the record itself will be marked with a "last modified" timestamp.

Collections

These are the top-level objects. By default, these are intended to be single, multi-page objects rather than "collections" in a more expanded sense. For example, a book or journal article is a collection of individual pages, a folder a collection of loose-leaf objects, and a CD a collection of audio files. These records contain metadata but no content.

Items

These are mid-level objects that contain content, but are generally not annotated. For example, a single page of a text or a full digital image of a painting.

Segments

These are the lowest-level objects. These pull content from the mid-level, but are focused on a particular sub-section or segment from it. For example, a segment might be a handful of words, or a few inches of a painting. This is the level that you should primarily annotate. You can also attach long-form notes to each segment. Annotations and notes for each segment should be the work of a single individual. If you two individuals are annotating the "same segment", you should create separate segment records (with different annotators / note takers selected).

It is the aim of this project to allow annotation comparisons of the "same segment" in a future version.