[tdwg-content] New terms need resolution: "Individual"

[Cam Webb]

Hi Rich,

> I guess I'm confused about what the difference between "Evidence" and
> "Individual" is.
> ...
> The part I'm a little bit fuzzy on is were "Evidence" fits in to this 
> model. If the function of "Evidence" is to represent proof of the 
> Occurrence (i.e., that the indicated Organism actually was associated 
> with the indicated Event), then I guess I can see the rationale and need 
> for it. I'll need to keep thinking on this one a bit more, but as I 
> write this email, and re-read Steve's earlier post, I'm beginning to get 
> my head around it.  But I'd still like to see exactly where it fits in 
> the diagram.

Again, for a diagram, please refer to the image on:

   http://code.google.com/p/darwin-sw/

Steve and I used `Token' as the class name for anything that provides 
evidence of a dwc:Occurrence.  The Token could be an image, a dried 
specimen, or...

> Also, does a literature citation of a particular organism at a 
> particular place/time constitute a form of Evidence? Or is that simply 
> captured as an Occurrence, without any tangible evidence (as, I imagine, 
> an Observation would be captured)?

... an Observation. I see a literature citation as documentation of an 
Observation, which provides evidence for an occurrence.  If we wanted to 
integrate Darwin-SW, or even DwC with existing observational ontologies 
(e.g. OBOE, https://semtools.ecoinformatics.org/oboe), we could allow an 
oboe:Observation to also be a Token, providing evidence for a 
dwc:Occurrence.

Please see the discussion of Token at:

   http://code.google.com/p/darwin-sw/wiki/ClassToken

Best,

Cam