Universe

Generalization is Concept.

Superclass hierarchy

Definition

Specialized unit type, with the specialization based upon characteristics other than time and geography.

Examples

  1. Canadian adults (not limited to those residing in Canada)

  2. Computer companies

  3. Universities

Explanatory notes

Universe sits in a hierarchy between UnitType and Population, with UnitType being most general and Population most specific. A Universe is a set of entities defined by a more narrow specification than that of an underlying UnitType. A Population further narrows the specification to a specific time and geography.

If the Universe consists of people, a number of factors may be used in defining membership in the Universe, such as age, sex, residence, income, veteran status, criminal convictions, etc. The universe may consist of elements other than persons, such as housing units, court cases, deaths, countries, etc. A universe may be described as “inclusive” or “exclusive”.

Not to be confused with Population, which includes the specification of time and geography.


Subclasses


Properties

Name

Description

Data Type

Multi- plicity

descriptiveText

A short natural language account of the characteristics of the object.

InternationalStructuredString

0..1

isInclusive

Default value is True. The description statement of a universe is generally stated in inclusive terms such as “All persons with university degree”. Occasionally a universe is defined by what it excludes, i.e., “All persons except those with university degree”. In this case the value would be changed to “false”.

:ref:``

0..1

Inherited Properties

Name

Description

Data Type

Multi- plicity

agency

Agency expressed as filed with the DDI Agency ID registry [registry.ddialliance.org] with optional additional sub-agency extensions.

:ref:``

1..1

id

ID conforming to the allowed structure of the DDI Identifier and must be unique within the Agency.

:ref:``

1..1

isPersistent

Default value is false indicating that the content of the current version may change (may be in development mode). Set to true when the content of this version will no longer change.

:ref:``

1..1

isUniversallyUnique

Default value is false. If the id of the object was created as a Universally Unique ID (UUID) set to true.

:ref:``

1..1

localId

Locally used identifier unique with a specified context, such as a variable name within a dataset.

LocalIdFormat

0..*

version

Version number of the object.

:ref:``

1..1

versionDate

Date and time the object was changed expressed in standard ISO formats.

XSDdate

0..1

versionRationale

Reason for making a new version of the object.

RationaleDefinition

0..1

versionResponsibility

Contributor who has the ownership and responsibility for the current version.

:ref:``

0..1

definition
from Concept

Natural language statement conveying the meaning of a concept, differentiating it from other concepts. Supports the use of multiple languages and structured text.

InternationalStructuredString

0..1

displayLabel
from Concept

A structured display label providing a fully human readable display for the identification of the object. Supports the use of multiple languages and structured text.

LabelForDisplay

0..*

name
from Concept

A linguistic signifier. Human understandable name (word, phrase, or mnemonic) that reflects the ISO/IEC 11179-5 naming principles. If more than one name is provided provide a context to differentiate usage.

ObjectName

0..*

Associations

Multiplicity

Association

Navigable Class

Multiplicity

0..*

Universe_uses_Concept

Concept

0..*

0..*

Universe_narrows_UnitType

UnitType

0..1

TBD

Diagram

TBD