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Default a submitter (uploader) of a document can add self chosen keywords to that document. It is also possible to configure DSpace in a way that the submitter has to choose from one or more predefined keywords (controlled vocabulary).

The DSpace manual seems to suggest that you - when configuring - have to choose between free and predefined keywords.

I would like to give the submitter the possibility to choose between one or more predefined keywords. But also that he or she can add one or more self chosen keywords. Is that possible?

Uri Goren
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Peter Bakker
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2 Answers2

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The hierarchical taxonomy feature gives you exactly this: https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSDOC5x/Authority+Control+of+Metadata+Values#AuthorityControlofMetadataValues-HierarchicalTaxonomiesandControlledVocabularies

You can see it in the demo installation on the "subject" field: you have a lookup feature that allows lookup in a tree of subjects, but manually entered values are possible as well.

screencast: http://screencast.com/t/0Cth3mORwxd

Bram Luyten
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  • Thanks Bram, after your suggestions and some testing I have a better understanding how this works. – Peter Bakker Feb 23 '16 at 12:06
  • Is it possible, when working with Controlled Vocabularies, to have single words to choose off? I mean not something like 'sector::agriculture', 'sector::tourism', etc., but just: 'agriculture', 'tourism', etc. – Peter Bakker Feb 23 '16 at 14:43
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I personally would set this up to use two different metadata fields.

  1. Something like dc.subject.whateverdescribesyourlistoffixedterms -- or even localschema.subject.whateverdescribesyourlistoffixedterms -- for the list of terms the user should select from. Note, for "whateverdescribesyourlistoffixedterms" I would choose something related to the name of the list of terms if at all possible (see example below).
  2. dc.subject for "standard" user-supplied keywords

Then just add both to your input forms, perhaps going with Bram's suggestion of a hierarchical taxonomy for the first.

To give you better advice on what's most appropriate, it would be great if you could give some more details about what you're trying to achieve. For example

  • Is your list of fixed keywords something that's used beyond your own organisation? If yes, this strongly points to having its own metadata field to me, with the qualifier something that's related to the name of the classification system -- eg, dc.subject.anzsrc for the Australia/New Zealand fields of research codes.
  • Do you want to mix the two types of keywords in browse/facet options? You can do this even when they're in two separate fields. Have a look at the Discovery search filters & sidebar facets documentation and see how that puts dc.contributor.author and dc.creator into the author facet. The documentation for browse indexes has a similar example in the author browse.
  • Are both types of subject keywords required for submission? Both optional? One type required, the other type optional? You say in a comment (if I read you correctly) that you want the fixed keywords to be mandatory during submission, while the free-text keywords should be optional. That means they must be in separate metadata fields because otherwise you wouldn't know, if the submitter gives keywords, whether they are from the fixed list of terms or not. If you use separate fields, you can make eg dc.subject.anzsrc a required field in the submission form and dc.subject an optional one.
schweerelos
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  • schweerelos, what I want to achieve is that the submitter is forced to choose one or more economical sector that the document covers (as agriculture, tourism, transport). But I also want invite the submitter to add some other keywords that are suitable for that document. And indeed, I like to mix this two types of keywords. That is why I don't want it on the 'hierarchical way' – Peter Bakker Feb 23 '16 at 12:30
  • I don't think the way you want to do this is possible. What do you mean by "mixing" them? It's still possible to have these two types of keywords in separate metadata fields but have them used/displayed as if they were in the same field on item pages, browse indexes, facets etc. – schweerelos Feb 23 '16 at 20:14
  • schweerelos, I did some tests and I think we will follow your suggestion to use an extra dc.subject.sector with predefined keywords. But do I understand you well that it is not possible to make dc.subject.sector a required entry? – Peter Bakker Feb 26 '16 at 09:50
  • I've elaborated a bit, hopefully that clarifies things regarding mandatory fields. What I meant with "not possible" is, you can't put both types of terms into the same metadata field and make one of them mandatory, see my edit to the answer (which you're welcome to accept if it helps you figure out how to proceed, by the way...). Separate fields is definitely the way to go then. Sorry about the confusion. – schweerelos Feb 27 '16 at 05:54
  • Großartig schweerelos! And of course: we only need the predefined keywords to be mandatory. – Peter Bakker Feb 27 '16 at 14:14