conformsTo

• Obligation:  See Application Profiles
• Occurrence:  See Application Profiles
• Conditions:  See Application Profiles
• Scheme:  See Application Profiles

Element Semantics (Definition)

A reference to an established standard to which the resource conforms.

General

• Name:  conformsTo
• Label:  Conforms To
• Namespace:  http://purl.org/dc/terms/
• Registration Authority:  Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)
• Notes:  None

Best Practices

1. The «conformsTo» element is used to represent an academic standard to which the resource being described correlates. That representation may take the form of a 'value string' or a 'value URI'.
2. If a 'value string' (simple text) is used to represent the standard, it is best to consider including textual information for the following facets (example #1 below contains a number of these facets):
   • Promulgating Body. The name of the organization (governmental or otherwise) that created the set of standards being correlated—e.g., 'National Council of the Teachers of Math'.
   • Standards Version. Standards evolve over time and it is important that the end user know the precise version of the standard used in the correlation.
   • Correlator. Since standards correlations involve considerable levels of subjective judgment, end users are interested in the identity of the person or organization that did the correlating.
   • Domain. The precise domain or subject area as defined (and stated) in the standard–e.g., "Science" or "Mathematics".
   • Academic or Training Level. Where appropriate, the grade level(s) to which the promulgating body says the standard applies.
   • Standard Text. The actual text of the academic standard.
3. If a 'value URI' is used to identify the academic standard, that URIref should point either to an online version of the standards or to the specific standard or benchmark.
4. The «conformsTo» refinement of the «relation» element is closely related to the «standards» element in the GEM namespace. Use of the «conformsTo» element is the preferred solution since information regarding the relationship between the resource and the academic standard will not be lost for systems that 'dumb down' data to simple Dublin Core.

Metadata Encodings Examples

• Resource Description Framework (RDF/XML)
  

  Example #1 (using a 'value string'):
  
  <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
  <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf='http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#'
      xmlns:dcterms='http://purl.org/dc/terms/'>
  <rdf:Description>
      <dcterms:conformsTo>
      Florida Department of Education. Sunshine 
      State Standards. Grade Level Expectations.
      Music First Grade. Skills and Techniques: 
      performs a steady beat based on a common 
      group pulse.
      </dcterms:conformsTo>
  </rdf:Description>
  </rdf:RDF>
  
  Example #2 (using a 'value URI'):
  
  <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
  <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf='http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#'
      xmlns:dcterms='http://purl.org/dc/terms/'>
  <rdf:Description>
      <dcterms:conformsTo rdf:resource='http://www.firn.edu/doe/curric/
      prek12/pdf/musicgle1.pdf'/>
  </rdf:Description>
  </rdf:RDF>

• XML (Tags & Attributes)
  

  Example #1 (using a 'value string'):
  
  <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
  <record xmlns:dcterms='http://purl.org/dc/terms/'>
  <dcterms:conformsTo>
      Florida Department of Education. Sunshine 
      State Standards. Grade Level Expectations.
      Music First Grade. Skills and Techniques: 
      performs a steady beat based on a common 
      group pulse.
  </dcterms:conformsTo>
  </record>
  
  Example #2 (using a 'value URI'):
  
  <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
  <record xmlns:dcterms='http://purl.org/dc/terms/'
      xmlns:xsi='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance'>
  <dcterms:conformsTo xsi:type='dcterms:URI'>
      http://www.firn.edu/doe/curric/prek12/
      pdf/musicgle1.pdf
  </dcterms:conformsTo>
  </record>

• Crosswalks
  IEEE LOM: 7:Relation
  MARC: To be done