Controlled Vocabulary for EarthEd Online

The controlled vocabulary (cv) is based on an early version of the one developed by DLESE committees. The organization is slightly different, though.

The DLESE cv is organized as a three level hierarchy. The EarthEdOnline name for each word is shown in parentheses in red.

For example (link to SERC definitions page ):

  1. General Science Topics, Processes and Concepts (General Science)
    1. States of Matter
      1. condensation
      2. chemical fractionation
      3. phase transformations
      4. etc
    2. Chemistry: topics and concepts
      1. inorganic chemistry
      2. crystallography
      3. etc
    3. Physics: topics and concepts
      1. Mechanical Transfer of Heat and Mass
        1. convection
        2. conduction
        3. etc
      2. Electro-Magnetic Properties
        1. magnetic field
        2. electrical conductivity
        3. etc
      3. Gravity
        1. etc
    4. etc.
  2. Earth System Processes (Earth System Processes)
    1. .... subheadings ...
  3. Earth System Environments (Environments)
  4. Time and the Earth System ( Time)
  5. Ways of Knowing About the Earth (Ways of Knowing About the Earth)
  6. Hot Topics In Science, In the News (Hot Topics )

The EarthEd Online vocabulary is a work in progress. The main categories are in conformance with the DLESE controlled vocabulary. However, only 3 levels are implemented in the heirarchy. This will only affect conformance with the General Science category, which seems to have an added 4th level. Because this complicates the implementation, only 3 categories will be used in EarthEd Online.

  1. Category
    1. Subject
      1. Keyword

There are 4 categories that correspond to the top level of the DLESE cv.

  1. Earth System Science (DLESE categories 1 and 2)
    1. Atmosphere
      1. keyword 1
      2. keyword 2
      3. etc
    2. Climate
    3. Earth Dynamics
    4. etc
  2. Environments (DLESE category 3)
    1. Atmosphere
    2. Beaches and Coasts
    3. Coastal Habitats
    4. etc.
  3. Time (DLESE category 4)
  4. Ways of Knowing (DLESE category 5)

Keywords are set under each of the subjects.

Funding from National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education, and UCSB Office of Instructional Development 

Contact: prothero at geol.ucsb.edu