MIT OpenCourseWare Identifier Strategy

MIT OpenCourseWare requires persistent, unique, unambiguous names for its Contributors, Courses, Sections, and Resources.   It refers to these names as identifiers.  This document clarifies the MIT OpenCourseWare strategy for identifier assignment and use.

Identifier Requirements

Identifiers are used by MIT OpenCourseWare to reference certain objects (Contributors, Courses, Sections, and Resources) within its publication environment.  MIT OpenCourseWare also shares these identifiers with consumers and adapters of its content, creating a stable, commonly used set of references.  In order to serve these purposes, MIT OpenCourseWare identifiers must meet the following requirements:

  1. Once assigned to an object an identifier should not change.
  2. Two objects should not share the same identifier.
  3. The identifier should enable interaction with the object or its metadata. 
  4. The identifier should be appropriate for internet-distributed, digital objects.
  5. The identifier should support use and adaptation of the object outside of MIT OpenCourseWare publications.

These requirements recommend the use of URIs (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986) as identifiers for MIT OpenCourseWare Contributors, Courses, Sections, and Resources.

Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs)

URIs

URIs are names not locators

URIs are globally unique

URIs are a web technology

URIs are crucial to linked data principles, which we should follow

Linked Data Principles

See: http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html

  1. Use URIs
  2. Use HTTP URIs so that people can look up those names
  3. When someone looks up a URI, provide useful information, using the standards (RDF, SPARQL) 
  4. Include links to other URIs. so that they can discover more things.

How to Fashion URIs

There will be two methods for assigning URIs.  One for Courses, Sections, and Resources.  A second method for Contributors.

We currently make XML metadata files for Courses, Sections, and some Resources available to the public.  For example, see (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/6-005Fall-2008/)

Identifier Usage

MIT OpenCourseWare assigns identifiers for use within its own publications.  These identifiers may be used by individuals, organizations, or projects external to MIT OpenCourseWare.  MIT OpenCourseWare does not assume responsibility for supporting these externals uses, or for establishing or maintaining identifiers for any objects outside of MIT OpenCourseWare publications.  For example, MIT OpenCourseWare will establish identifiers for its Contributors, many of which are MIT Faculty.  This does not mean that MIT OpenCourseWare maintains identifiers on behalf of the Institute for every MIT faculty or community member.