Field Types¶

CEDAR has five main kinds of field: core fields, controlled term fields, external authority fields, attribute-value fields, and static fields.

Core Fields¶

Core fields collect a value directly from the author: text, a number, a date, a choice from a fixed list, a link, or contact details. Each holds whatever the author types or picks, constrained only by its own type. The value is not drawn from an external vocabulary or authority.

Field type	Collects
`text-field`	Free text.
`text-area-field`	Multi-line text.
`numeric-field`	A number.
`temporal-field`	A date, time, or datetime.
`radio-field`	One option, as radio buttons.
`single-select-list-field`	One option, from a dropdown list.
`checkbox-field`	Any number of options, as checkboxes.
`multi-select-list-field`	Any number of options, from a dropdown list.
`link-field`	A URI.
`phone-number-field`	A phone number.
`email-field`	An email address.

Controlled Term Field¶

A controlled term field binds a field's value to terms from a controlled vocabulary — an ontology, a branch of one, specific classes, or a value set — so the value is a shared, resolvable identifier rather than free text. This is what makes metadata from different authors and templates comparable and interoperable.

Field type	Collects
`controlled-term-field`	A term from a controlled vocabulary.

External Authority Fields¶

External authority fields collect an identifier issued and maintained by an outside registry, such as an organization from ROR, a person from ORCID, or a publication from DOI. The stored value is a resolvable identifier from that authority, not a typed-in name. CEDAR can extend this set with further authorities.

Field type	Authority
`ext-ror-field`	ROR — Research Organization Registry.
`ext-orcid-field`	ORCID — researcher identifiers.
`ext-doi-field`	DOI — digital object identifiers.
`ext-rrid-field`	RRID — research resource identifiers.
`ext-pfas-field`	PFAS identifiers.
`ext-pubmed-field`	PubMed identifiers.
`ext-nih-grant-id-field`	NIH grant identifiers.

Attribute-Value Field¶

An attribute-value field lets the person filling out the template supply their own attribute-value pairs, naming each attribute and giving its value. Every other field has a name fixed by the template; an attribute-value field is open-ended, so the author adds as many pairs as they need. It suits metadata whose shape is not known in advance, capturing properties that vary from one instance to the next.

Field type	Collects
`attribute-value-field`	User-supplied attribute/value pairs.

Static Fields¶

Static fields do not collect values. They control a template's presentation and display, governing its layout and the supporting content shown alongside the fields. A static field might present a heading, an image, or an explanatory note, or break the form into sections and pages.

Field type	Purpose
`static-rich-text`	Formatted text.
`static-image`	An image.
`static-youtube-video`	An embedded video.
`static-section-break`	A labeled section divider.
`static-page-break`	A page divider.