Training

Warning

Draft documentation. The format described in this documentation is a proposed format which may change with further research and development.

Trainings are training and assistance intervention provided bilaterally by a state or by a multilateral security actor like the European Union to the security or defense forces of another state.

Training: Summary of claim attributes

The table below is a draft summarizing the following dimensions of a proposed training claim type:

  • Attribute label: a human readable label for the attribute

  • Status: whether the attribute is optional or required in a claim

  • Data type: the sort of data that can be entered into the attribute

  • Key name: a standardized name that simplifies attribute use in SFM databases

Attribute label

Status

Data type

Key name

type:claim

required

string

:claim/type

status:meta

required

string

:claim/statuses

researcher:meta

required

string

:meta/researchers

internal_comments:meta

optional

string

:meta/internal-comments

citation:refs:claim

required

strings<->uuids

:claim/citation:refs

about_entity:ref:claim

required

string<->uuid

:claim/about-entity:ref

about_entity:name:qa

optional

string

n/a

training:program:refs:assertion

optional

string

proposed

training:course:refs:assertion

optional

string

proposed

training:trainer_unit:refs:assertion

optional

string<->uuid

proposed

training:trainer_unit:names:qa

optional

string

n/a

training:recepient_unit:refs:assertion

optional

string<->uuid

proposed

training:recipent_unit:names:qa

optional

string

n/a

training:recipient:classifications:assertion

optional

list

proposed

training:recipient_country:annotation

optional

string

:annotation/country

training:location:descriptions:assertion

optional

strings

proposed

training:location:refs:assertion

optional

strings<->uuids

proposed

training:location:names:qa

optional

strings

proposed

training:quantity:assertion

optional

strings

proposed

training:cost:assertion

optional

strings

proposed

training:cost_currency:assertion

optional

strings

proposed

first_precise:range

optional

string-date

:range-precise/first

last_precise:range

optional

string-date

:range-precise/last

first_imprecise:range

optional

string-date

:range-imprecise/first

last_imprecise:range

optional

string-date

:range-imprecise/last

starting:range

required

YN<->bool

:range/starting?

ending:range

required

YN<->bool

:range/ending?

starting_context:range

optional

string

:range/starting-context

ending_context:range

optional

string

:range/ending-context

public_notes:meta

optional

string

:meta/public-notes

type:entity

required

string

:entity/type

Training: details of claim attributes

This section will contain further information about each attribute, including descriptions, examples of use, and guidance on use.

type:claim

Description

A field that defines what type of claim is being made.

Attribute type

Text string

Status

This attribute is required.

Key name

:claim/type

Example of use

training

Guidance on use

Entering training defines the claim and defines the relevant fields to be used in further data entry about a Training. For quality assurance purposes, any other entry should create an error.

status:meta

Description

A field that classifies the data in the claim.

Attribute type

Text string

Status

This attribute is required.

Key name

:claim/statuses

Example of use

accepted, conflict, work_needed, issue

Guidance on use

Claims are marked accepted when all of the data can be entered in accordance with the guidance of this handbook. The conflict flag is used whenever a claim conflicts with another claim (or claims) and a review of citations show it to be the incorrect or false claim (see Citations with both Accepted and Conflicted Information for guidance when one claim from a citation contains both accepted and conflict information). A public_notes:meta should always accompany any conflict claim.

If the data itself cannot be brought into the SFM standard the flag issue should be used. Finally, if the current citations cannot establish whether a claim should be flagged as accepted or conflict then the flag work_needed should be used as additional research is needed.

researcher:meta

Description

Field for initials or other identifier of researcher who last entered data for the claim.

Attribute type

Text string

Status

This attribute is required.

Key name

:meta/researchers

Example of use

TW, Jane_Doe, G1

Guidance on use

Every researcher should use this field to mark the claims that they have entered. Anytime a researcher modifies any data for an existing claim they should update this field so that any questions can be directed to the right person and the flow of work can be better tracked.

internal_comments:meta

Description

A field for temporary comments or notes for the researcher or research team working on the claim.

Attribute type

Text string

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

:meta/internal-comments

Example of use

Come back to this to determine date for claim

Guidance on use

Researchers may use this field to make temporary notes or leave temporary comments intended for others in the research team about a claim. These should eventually be addressed and the field cleared by the researcher or research team. If the claim needs an explanatory note or comment to be better understood, then that should be entered in the public_notes:meta field.

citation:refs:claim

Description

Field unique 32-character code assigned to citation(s) evidencing the claim.

Attribute type

String in UUID format

Status

This attribute is required.

Key name

:claim/citation:refs

Example of use

69dba35b-2b70-47cf-bfda-f80225f652c6, 4e99308c-f9c0-49e8-b97b-14c1e7bcb99d;bedf57b2-c20b-41e3-9dcf-b7b065eaa3b7

Guidance on use

Every claim must have at least one citation to evidence the data in the claim. When two or more citations are needed to evidence a claim then a corresponding explanatory note should be entered in the public_notes:meta field. This field is for the Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) for each citation, found in the source:access_point_id:admin field in the Sources sheet. When multiple citations are needed every UUID should be semi-colon separated.

about_entity:ref:claim

Description

A unique 32-character code assigned to each entity in the dataset.

Attribute type

String in UUID format

Status

This attribute is required.

Key name

:claim/about-entity:ref

Example of use

521ebf18-f161-4ac9-8c72-5a246efa0458

Guidance on use

Every entity has a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) to distinguish it from any other entity. For a Training this UUID distinguishes them from any other Training in the dataset.

about_entity:name:qa

Description

Field that provides human readable name for claim.

Attribute type

Text string

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

This field provides a human readable counterpart to the about_entity:ref:claim which combines the various elements of the claim into a single text field. This field can be manually added by a researcher or automatically populated by the system after import.

training:program:refs:assertion

Description

The name of program which the training:course:refs:assertion is part.

Attribute type

Text string.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

The name of the program should be entered as stated from the citation. Future development may require this field to be updated as a separate claim to allow for standardized names of programs.

training:course:refs:assertion

Description

The name of the specific training course.

Attribute type

Text string.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

The name of the course should be entered as stated from the citation. Future development may require this field to be updated as a separate claim to allow for standardized names of courses.

training:trainer_unit:refs:assertion

Description

The unique 32-character code of the unit providing the training.

Attribute type

String in UUID format.

Status

This attribute is required.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

The Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) used must be for a Unit which already exists in the dataset.

training:trainer_unit:names:qa

Description

The human readable name of the unit providing the training.

Attribute type

Text string.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

This is human readable name for the training:trainer_unit:refs:assertion. The field can be manually entered or automatically populated by the system. Best practice for this field is to use the name:annotation for the Unit.

training:recepient_unit:refs:assertion

Description

The unique 32-character code of the unit receiving the training.

Attribute type

String in UUID format.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

The Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) used must be for a Unit which already exists in the dataset.

training:recipent_unit:names:qa

Description

The human readable name of the unit receiving the training.

Attribute type

Text string.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

This is human readable name for the training:recepient_unit:refs:assertion. The field can be manually entered or automatically populated by the system. Best practice for this field is to use the name:annotation for the Unit.

training:recipient:classifications:assertion

Description

A general descriptor of trainees, often matches a branch or branches of the security forces.

Attribute type

String

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

Sometimes a citation will report general information about the trainee. For example, rather than state a unit or a specific person the citation might include something generic like “soldiers” or “police”. In these cases we use the same methodology used assign a training:recipient:classifications:assertion to assign a unit:classifications:assertion. The list of possible entries used in training:recipient:classifications:assertion is the same for unit:classifications:assertion.

training:recipient_country:annotation

Description

Traget country for training, used for grouping claims.

Attribute type

Text, controlled vocabulary.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

:annotation/country

Example of use

mx

Guidance on use

Values for this field are chosen from the list of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, which can be found on the ISO website. This field is used to aid grouping trainings into datasets related to specific countries and does not denote the country of origin of a unit. The specific country code should be chosen based the target country for the Training as specified in the citation, or any related Positioning the training:recepient_unit:refs:assertion holds, or any other contextual information from citations about the training:recepient_unit:refs:assertion.

training:location:descriptions:assertion

Description

A textual description of a location which cannot be represented in data, copied directly from the citation.

Attribute type

Text string.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

n/a - proposed field

Guidance on use

We use this attribute to record the place a Training occurred, exactly as described in the citation.

training:location:refs:assertion

Description

The unique identifier of a location, drawn from the data on existing locations

Attribute type

String in UUID format

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

4d7d97a6-d85e-436b-9511-81e8d55ceff3``(the identifier for the location``Baga (osm, point) 4d7d97a6-d85e-436b-9511-81e8d55ceff3)

Guidance on use

This field is used to store information about the Location where the training occurred. The value included in this field must be taken from id:entity attribute from the location dataset. For further guidance on the creation, management and use of locations visit the Location documentation.

training:location:names:qa

Description

Human readable name for location.

Attribute type

String

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

Hpruso Township (osm, poly) fd51e411-0a21-439c-ba3b-b6aa787541d1

Guidance on use

The best practice for this field is to use the location:humane_id:qa of the training:location:refs:assertion.

training:quanity:assertion

Description

Number of trainees for the training.

Attribute type

String

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

300

Guidance on use

If the citation reports the number of attendees or number of persons trained, it should be entered in this field.

training:cost:assertion

Description

Cost of trainings.

Attribute type

String

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed field

Example of use

17856

Guidance on use

If citations report the total cost of the training, it should be entered in this field.

training:cost_currency:assertion

Description

Associated currency of the country or supranational entity providing the training.

Attribute type

Text, controlled vocabulary.

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

n/a - proposed

Example of use

n/a - proposed

Guidance on use

Values for this field are chosen from the list of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, which can be found on the ISO website.

first_precise:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

last_precise:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

first_imprecise:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

last_imprecise:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

starting:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

ending:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

starting_context:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

ending_context:range

Full guidance on rationale for and differences between precise and imprecise date ranges, the use of this attribute can be found in the Handbook page How Dates Work.

public_notes:meta

Description

Additional context or details about the claim for a public audience.

Attribute type

String

Status

This attribute is optional.

Key name

:meta/public-notes

Example of use

Citation @3c981094-fb7b-4b78-b8f6-b525a03f72b5, published on 15 July 2019, states that numerous military appointments occurred "last week". This is understood to mean the week starting the previous Sunday 7 July 2019 through Saturday 13 July 2019.

Guidance on use

This field should be used whenever any claim requires additional explanation because for a general reader the claim is not clearly and directly stated in the citation. For the example of use above a citation published on 15 July 2019 refers to something happening “last week” and as a result a researcher has determined the previous Sunday 7 July 2019 through Saturday 13 July 2019 should be entered into the appropriate fields of first_imprecise:range and last_imprecise:range. That range would not be immediately clear to a public audience since neither date is directly referenced in the text of the citation. As a result, the researcher should explain how that date range was evidenced by the citation.

type:entity

Description

Specifies the type of entity.

Attribute type

Text, controlled vocabulary.

Status

This field is required.

Key name

:entity/type

Example of use

claim

Guidance on use

For a Training the only entry allowed for this field is claim.