Table of Contents
Index
Glossary
Table of Contents
Index
Glossary

  
Organisational relations

Identify the organisational relations between modules, of which at least one is part of the article at hand. Express these organisational relations in links and present these links in the Map of contents and in the navigation menu of each of the modules. The different labels that can be associated to organisational relations are summarised in figure A.3

The purpose of organisational relations is to identify the module's organisational context in the article and in larger collections of modules. The modules can be consulted separately, without their context in the article. Hence, organisational relations do not have to be made explicit in the text of the module itself. If, however, a link is given in the text to represent a scientific discourse relation between particular relata, that link should also express any organisational relations that can be identified between the corresponding relata, which implies that the link is characterised by the labels associated to these organisational relations as well (see above for the correspondence of the source and target of the link, and the relata of the relations it can express).

1. Hierarchical relations (Is part of, Contains)  

• Make explicit all hierarchical relations between the complex modules that you have created and their constituent modules.

• Check if between the relata a synthesis relation (aggregation or generalisation) can be identified as well, i.e. if the complex module is a clear-cut compound module or cluster module. If that is the case, express that relation in the same link. If no synthesis relation is made explicit, a link labelled `Is part of' by default expresses implicit aggregation and generalisation.

• If the complex module contains a  module summary, make explicit in the same link a resolution relation and a context relation, to indicate that the complex module provides fewer details and more context than the constituent modules.

Notation: The link `S Contains Is part of T' is denoted in the text of S as [link type: (Contains); target: T], meaning ``the current module S contains module T'', and in the text of T as [link type: (Is part of); target: S], meaning ``the current module T is part of the module S''.
Example: `A05-m2 contains part of A05-m2b': The compound module Positioning A05-m2 contains the module Central problem and reversely, the elementary module Central Problem is part of the Positioning.

2. Proximity-based relations (Article, Project, External)  

A proximity-based relation indicates whether the connected modules are close to each other: are they part of different works or of the same work? Make this type of relation explicit between modules that are connected by a link created for the purpose of expressing another type of relation.

• Article:
  The label associated to a proximity-based relation between modules in the same article is `Article'. This is the default proximity-based relation: do not make that label explicit in the characterisation of a link.

  Example: The Treated results module A08-m4bi and the module Experimental methods A08-m3a are part of the same article A08. The proximity-based relation between these modules could be made explicit in the link between them as `A08-m4bi Article Article A08-m3c', but these labels are not made explicit.

• Project:
  • Use the label `Project' to express the proximity-based relation between modules that are part of different publications issued from the same research project.

  • Present all links that are labelled `Project' in the Lists of references.

  Notation The link `S Project Project T' is denoted in the text of S as [link type: (project); target: T] and in the text of T as [link type: (Project); target: S], meaning that both modules are issued from the same project.
  Example: The Situation module A08-m2a and the module Findings A05-m6a are both part of the corpus, i.e. issued from the same project, so that the link between them is labelled as follows: `A08-m2a Project Project A05-m6a'.

• External:
  • Use the label `External' to express the proximity-based relation between modules that do not belong to the same article, nor to articles that have been published in the context of the same research project.
  • Present all links that are labelled `External' in the Lists of references.

  Notation The link `S External External T' is denoted in the text of S as [link type: (external); target: T] and in the text of T as [link type: (external); target: S], meaning the connected modules are issued from the different research projects.
  Example: The Situation module A05-m2a, links are given to articles by authors that do not collaborate within the same research project:
  `A05-m2a External External ${\rm Rf_{A05}7}$-m1'.

3. Range-based relations (To wider range, To narrower range)  

• A range-based relation indicates the difference in range between the information represented in linked modules. Make this type of relation explicit between modules that are connected by a link created to express another type of relation. In this manner, characterise all links connecting the microscopic modules of the article to mesoscopic and macroscopic  modules, as well as links connecting mesoscopic modules to macroscopic modules, with the label `To wider range'. Use the label `To narrower range' to characterise links from mesoscopic and macroscopic modules to microscopic modules, and links from macroscopic to mesoscopic modules.

• Check if a link labelled as `To wider range' should also be labelled as `Is generalised in'.

Notation: The link `S To wider range To narrower range T' is denoted in the text of S as [link type: (to wider ranger); target: T], meaning ``the information in module T has a wider range than the information in the module S'', and in the text of T [link type: (To narrower range); target: S] means ``the module S has a narrower range than the information in the module T''.
Example: Mesoscopic modules have a wider range than microscopic modules, so that `A05-m3a To wider To narrower MESO-m3a', where A05-m3a provides the article-specific information on the actual measurements performed at this time and MESO-m3a the information about the set-up, which plays a role in the research project as a whole.

    

Figure A.3: The different types of labels associated to the organisational relations.

4. Administrative relations (To contents, To meta-information) 

Make explicit the administrative relations between, on the one hand, the module Meta-information and its constituents, and, on the other hand, the `scientific' content modules:

• Link each microscopic module (through the navigation menu) to the Meta-information, the Abstract and the Map of content and characterise those links with the label `To meta-information'. In addition, link each mesoscopic and macroscopic module you have created (through the navigation menu) to their Meta-information and Map of contents.
• Provide in the modules Abstract, Lists of index terms and Map of content links labelled as `to contents' to each module of the article, and as well as in the Lists of references to each module that contains `Project' or `External' links. In addition, provide links labelled `To contents' from the meta-information about the mesoscopic and macroscopic module to the content of those modules.

Notation: The link `S To meta-information To contents T' is denoted in the text of S as [link type: (to meta-information); target: T], meaning ``the meta-information of the current module S is provided in module T'', and in the text of T [link type: (to contents); target: S] means ``the information associated to the current meta-information module T is provided in the module S''.

5. Sequential relations 

• Determine the sequence in which the modules can be consulted by readers who wish to read the entire article. Set out paths through the article that facilitate sequential consultation, by making explicit the asymmetric relations associated to the sequential path between the modules that the path passes through.

  The standard sequence of microscopic modules in an article is: m1 META-INFORMATION, m1a Bibliographic information, m1b Lists of physics index terms, m1c Map of contents, m1d Abstract, m1e Lists of references, m1f Acknowledgements, m2 POSITIONING, m2a Situation, m2b Central problem, m3 METHODS, m3a Experimental methods, m3b Numerical methods, m3c Theoretical methods, m4 RESULTS, m4a Raw data, m4b Treated results, m5 INTERPRETATION, m5a Qualitative interpretation, m5b Quantitative interpretation, m6 OUTCOME, m6a Findings, m6b Leads for further research.

• If these modules contain constituent modules distinguished by their physics content, choose the sequence that best corresponds to the steps in the problem-solving process, or start the path with the easy cases, before leading the reader to the more complicated cases. In the case of the components of the experimental set-up of a collision experiment, follow the course of a projectile particle from its source to the detection of the collision products.

5.1

Complete sequential path  (Sq-next, Sq-back)

• Set-out a complete sequential path that passes through each module in the article, which allows the reader to be certain that he has not missed any modules.
• Specify in each module a sequential link indicating the next step and the previous step, except for the module Meta-information, which is the starting point of the path and the module Leads for further research, which is the end.

Notation: A link `S Sq-next Sq-back T' is denoted in the text of S as [link type: (Sq-next); target: T], meaning ``following the complete sequential path, the next step from the current module S leads to module T'', and in the text of T as [link type: (Sq-back); target: S], meaning ``retracing steps from the current module T by way of the complete sequential path leads back to module S''.
Example: `A05-m2b Sq-next Sq-back A05-m3': Following the sequential path that we have established in the article, the next step along the complete sequential path after the module Central problem, leads to the Methods module.

5.2

Essay-type path  (Es-next, Es-back)

• Set out an essay-type sequential path that passes through the elementary modules in the article, that allows the reader to follow the line of discourse of the article.
• Start the path in the module Situation for short or simple articles. For more complex articles, start the path in the Abstract. In addition, provide a starting point for the essay-type path in the module summary of the Meta-information.
• Only include a complex module explicitly in this path if its  `module summary' is absolutely necessary for the sequential reader's understanding of a (particularly complicated) collection of elementary modules. Avoid the Raw data. In addition, avoid most of constituents of the module Meta-information, in particular the Lists of physics index terms and the Lists of references.

Notation: A link `S Es-next Es-back T' is denoted in the text of S as [link type: (Essay-next); target: T], meaning ``following the essay-type sequential path, the next step from the current module S leads to module T'', and in the text of T as [link type: (essay-back); target: S], meaning ``retracing steps from the current module T by way of the essay-type sequential path leads back to module S''.
Example: `A08-mb3a Es-next Es-back A08-m4bi': Following the essay-type sequential path, the next step along the complete sequential path after the module Experimental methods, leads to the Treated results module focusing on the experimental differential cross sections.

An editorial board can specify stringent rules for the essay-type path. They may require the author to either include or to exclude the Bibliographic information and the Map of contents. These decisions may also be left to the author's discretion.

6. Representational relations

[to be defined]

If you have represented the same information in different formats, make explicit the representational relations between these different representations (for instance, in links connecting a textual representation, a figure and an animation).

In the modularisation of the corpus articles, we have not identified representational relations, because neither we, nor the authors of the original articles, have represented the same information in different formats. The editorial board of a multimedia journal can specify rules for this `technical' type of relations.