Output – INSPECT: Framework for the definition of significant properties – content types

Title: Framework for the definition of significant properties

Number of pages or page numbers: page18-43

Section: 3. Initial analysis of file types

Date Released: 05/02/2008

URI for Output: http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp33-propertiesreport-v1.pdf

Summary of contents:

This substantive section of the report considers the application of the significant properties framework to four file types – Structured text (p18-23); Email(p24-35) ; Digital audio (p36-43); and Raster Images(p44-45).

The sections on structured text, email, and digital audio provide visual maps of properties to the significant properties framework. (as detailed https://rrtsynthesis.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/output-inspect-framework-for-the-definition-of-significant-properties-purpose/)

Significant properties are listed in detail for Email and Digital Audio

It is not clear if the section on raster images is complete.

Comments:

This is a valuable piece of work but appears incomplete; its use in any synthesis will be at the level of knowing it exsits and has been carried out – any use of this requires detailed engagement with the base document.

Output- INSPECT: Framework for the definition of significant properties -purpose and definition

Title: Framework for the definition of significant properties

Number of pages or page numbers: page 5-8

Section: 1.4 A framework for recording significant properties

Date Released: 05/02/2008

URI for Output: http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp33-propertiesreport-v1.pdf

Summary of contents:

“The creation of a significant properties framework fulfils several purposes. It enables the institution to:
1) Analyse and catalogue the significant properties of a digital Record;
2) Review significant properties associated with an existing digital Record;
3) Assess the relative value of the property for the re-creation of the Record;
4) Quantitatively measure the value associated with the property;
5) Validate that the value associated with the property is correct.”

These pages then provide a definition of ‘a common set of information elements, … that may be used by an institution to identify the properties considered to be important and indicate the quality thresholds that must be met. ‘

Output – Inspect: Significant Properties Report – overview

Title: Significant Properties Report

Number of pages or page numbers: 10 pages

Section:

Date Released: 10 April 2007

URI for Output: http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp22_significant_properties.pdf

Summary of contents:

Report provides a brief background and overview of the key concepts in digital preservation (including migration and authenticity) and a review of existing work on ‘significant properties’.

‘Use the term ‘significant properties’ in preference to either ‘significant
characteristics’ or ‘essence’, although we regard the terms as essentially interchangeable.’

‘For the purposes of this project we define ‘significant properties’ as:
the characteristics of digital objects that must be preserved over time in
order to ensure the continued accessibility, usability, and meaning of the
objects.’

‘The significant properties of digital objects fall into 5 categories:
• content, eg. text, image, slides, etc.
• context, eg. who, when, why.
• [rendering], eg. font and size, colour, layout, etc.
• structure, eg. embedded files, pagination, headings, etc.
• behaviour, eg. hypertext links, updating calculations, active links, etc.’

Category ‘appearance’ in this report changed to ‘rendering’ in subsequent work (http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/documents/wp33-propertiesreport-v1.pdf p15). This page in the  report also provides fuller definitions of these 5 terms.

Project – INSPECT

Investigating the Significant Properties of Electronic
Content Over Time

Short Project Name: INSPECT

Programme Name: Repositories and Preservation Programme

Strand: Preservation Assessment

JISC Project URI: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/programme_rep_pres/inspect.aspx

Project URI: http://www.significantproperties.org.uk/

Start Date: 2006-10-01

End Date: 2008-09-30 – tbc

Governance: Integrated Information Environment Committee (JIIE)

Contact Name and Role: Paul Wheatley, Project Team Member -tbc

Brief project description:
“The purpose of INSPECT is to develop and expound the concept of “significant properties” (or characteristics) of digital objects, and to analyse a range of digital objects in order to develop a generalised methodology for determining the significant properties of digital object types.”

Name of Trawler: John

Available Outputs:
Project Plan – this lists a number of other deliverables of interest which are not yet available

Significant Properties Report

Framework for definition of significant properties