METHOD
DATA
STANDARD
Standard
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1
 
FINAL
DRAFT
July
26,
2005
This
standard
has
been
produced
through
the
Environmental
Data
Standards
Council
(
EDSC).

The
Environmental
Data
Standards
Council
(
EDSC)
is
a
partnership
among
EPA,
States
and
Tribal
partners
to
develop
and
agree
upon
data
standards
for
environmental
information
collection
and
exchange.
More
information
about
the
EDSC
is
available
at
http://
www.
envdatastandards.
net.
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
2
Foreword
The
Environmental
Data
Standards
Council
identifies,
prioritizes
and
pursues
the
creation
of
data
standards
for
those
areas
where
information
exchange
standards
will
provide
the
most
value
in
achieving
environmental
results.
The
Council
involves
Tribes
and
Tribal
Nations,
state
and
federal
agencies
in
the
development
of
the
standards
and
then
provides
the
draft
materials
for
general
review.
Business
groups,
non­
governmental
organizations,
and
other
interested
parties
may
then
provide
input
and
comment
for
Council
consideration
and
standard
finalization.
Draft
and
final
standards
are
available
at
http://
www.
envdatastandards.
net.

1.0
INTRODUCTION
This
Method
Data
Standard
identifies
and
references
the
methods,
procedures,
and
techniques
for
performing
an
activity
(
e.
g.,
sampling,
chemical
analysis,
and
quantification).

1.1
Scope
This
standard
provides
and
describes
data
groupings
that
are
used
to
exchange
data
and
information
about
methods,
procedures,
and
techniques
for
performing
an
activity
(
e.
g.,
sampling,
chemical
analysis,
and
quantification).

1.2
References
to
Other
Data
Standards
This
standard
relies
on
other
standards
to
make
it
complete
and
provide
the
necessary
support.
As
such
users
should
consider
the
references
to
others
data
standards
noted
below
as
integral
to
the
Method
Data
Standard.
These
include:
 
Bibliographic
Reference
Data
Standard
(
Final
Draft
Version
1.0)
 
ISO
15836:
2003
Information
and
Documentation
 
Dublin
Core
Metadata
Element
Set
1.3
Terms
and
Definitions
For
the
purposes
of
this
document,
the
following
term
and
definition
apply.

Term
Definition
Method
A
body
of
procedures
and
techniques
for
performing
an
activity
(
e.
g.,
sampling,
chemical
analysis,
and
quantification)
systematically
presented
in
the
order
in
which
they
are
to
be
executed
[
source:
ANSI/
ASQ
E4­
2004
Quality
systems
for
environmental
data
and
technology
programs
 
Requirements
with
guidance
for
use].

1.4
Implementation
Users
are
encouraged
to
use
the
XML
registry
housed
on
the
Exchange
Network
Web
site
to
download
schema
components
for
the
construction
of
XML
schema
flows
(
http://
www.
exchangenetwork.
net).
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
3
1.5
Document
Structure
The
structure
of
this
document
is
briefly
described
below:
a.
Section
2.0
Method
Data
Standard
Diagram,
illustrates
the
principal
data
groupings
contained
within
this
standard.
b.
Section
3.0
Method
Data
Standard
Table,
provides
information
on
the
high
level,
intermediate
and
elemental
method
data
groupings.
Where
applicable,
for
each
level
of
this
data
standard
a
definition,
XML
tag,
note(
s),
example
list
of
values
and
format
are
provided.
The
format
column
may
include
the
number
of
characters
for
the
associated
data
element,
where
"
A"
specifies
alphanumeric
and
"
N"
designates
numeric.

c.
Data
Standard
Numbering:
For
purposes
of
clarity
and
to
enhance
understanding
of
data
standard
hierarchy
and
relationships,
each
data
group
is
numerically
classified
from
the
primary
to
the
elemental
level.

d.
Code
and
Identifier
metadata:
Based
on
the
business
need,
additional
metadata
may
be
required
to
sufficiently
describe
an
identifier
or
a
code.
A
note
regarding
this
additional
metadata
is
included
in
the
notes
column
for
identifier
and
code
elements.
Additional
metadata
for
identifiers
may
include:

 
Identifier
Context,
which
identifies
the
source
or
data
system
that
created
or
defined
the
identifier.
Additional
metadata
for
codes
may
include:

 
Code
List
Identifier,
which
is
a
standardized
reference
to
the
context
or
source
of
the
set
of
codes.

 
Code
List
Version
Identifier,
which
identifies
the
particular
version
of
the
set
of
codes.

 
Code
List
Version
Agency
Identifier,
which
identifies
the
agency
responsible
for
maintaining
the
set
of
codes.

 
Code
List
Name,
which
describes
the
corresponding
name
for
which
the
code
represents
Appendix
A
Method
Data
Standard
Structure
Diagram
illustrates
the
hierarchical
classification
of
the
Method
Data
Standard.
This
diagram
enables
business
and
technical
users
of
this
standard
to
quickly
understand
its
general
content
and
complexity.

e.
Appendix
A,
Method
Data
Standard
Structure
Diagram
illustrates
the
hierarchical
classification
of
the
method
data
standard.
This
diagram
enables
business
and
technical
users
of
this
standard
to
quickly
understand
its
general
content
and
complexity.
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
4
2.0
METHOD
DATA
STANDARD
DIAGRAM
This
diagram
specifies
the
major
data
groups
that
may
be
used
to
identify
the
characteristics
or
catalog
the
methods.

Method
Data
Standard
1.0
Method
Identification
2.0
Method
Reference
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
5
3.0
METHOD
DATA
STANDARD
TABLE
1.0
Method
Identification
Definition:
Identifies
the
procedures/
processes
and
references
required
to
determine
the
methods
used
to
obtain
a
result.

Relationship:
None.

Notes:
None.

XML
Tags:
MethodIdentification
Data
Element
Name
Data
Element
Definition
Notes
Format
XML
Tag
1.1
Method
Identifier
The
identification
number
assigned
by
the
method
publisher.
Example
List
of
Values:

 
3540C
 
MOM
grab
 
200.7
 
8260B
 
PM10
(
0
to
10
microns)
at
STP.

Method
Number
071
Based
on
the
business
need,
additional
metadata
may
be
required
to
sufficiently
describe
an
identifier.
This
additional
metadata
is
described
in
the
Introduction
Section,
1.5.
d,
above.
A
MethodIdetifier
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
6
Data
Element
Name
Data
Element
Definition
Notes
Format
XML
Tag
1.2
Method
Name
The
title
that
appears
on
the
method
from
the
method
publisher.
Example
List
of
Values:

 
Soxhlet
Extraction
 
Surface
grab
sampling
procedure
 
Determination
of
Metals
and
Trace
Elements
in
Water
and
Wastes
by
Inductively
Coupled
Plasma­
Atomic
Emission
Spectrometry
 
Semi­
Volatile
Organic
Compounds
by
Gas
Chromatography/
Mass
Spectrometry
(
GC/
MS)

 
Gravimetric
analysis
of
PM10
samples
collected
on
a
quartz
filter
A
MethodName
1.3
Method
Qualifier
Type
Identifier
of
type
of
method
that
identifies
it
as
reference,

equivalent
or
other.
Example
List
of
Values:

 
Referenced
 
Non­
referenced
 
Equivalent
 
Approved
alternative
A
MethodQualifierType
1.4
Method
Qualifier
Unique
qualifier
that
further
defines
the
Method
Qualifier
Type.
Example
List
of
Values:

 
Reference
method
identifier
for
PM10
method
or
instrument
(
RFPS­
0389­
071)
A
MethodQualfier
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
7
Data
Element
Name
Data
Element
Definition
Notes
Format
XML
Tag
1.5
Method
Description
Text
A
brief
summary
that
provides
general
information
about
the
method.
Example
List
of
Values:

 
Procedure
for
extracting
nonvolatile
and
semi­
volatile
organic
compounds
from
soils,

sludges
and
wastes
 
Procedure
for
collecting
the
most
representative
sample
from
a
water
body
 
Total
recoverable
metals
by
ICP
in
water
 
Method
used
to
determine
volatile
organic
compounds
in
a
variety
of
solid
waste
matrices
 
Procedure
for
collection
and
analysis
of
PM10
samples
A
MethodDescriptionText
1.6
Method
Type
Identifier
of
the
type
or
category
of
method.
Example
List
of
Values:

 
Preparation
(
extraction)

 
Collection
 
Preservation,
digestion
&

analysis
 
Testing
 
Field
measurement,

collection
and
analysis
A
MethodType
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
8
Data
Element
Name
Data
Element
Definition
Notes
Format
XML
Tag
1.7
Method
Deviations
Text
that
identifies
any
deviations
from
the
published
method
reference.
Example
List
of
Values:

 
Used
PE
multi­
component
spectral
filtering
instead
of
interelement
correction
factors
prescribed
by
method.
A
MethodDeviation
2.0
Method
Reference
Definition:
Elements
or
attributes
that
describe
the
bibliographic
reference
for
the
method.

Relationship:
None.

Note:
Reference
the
Bibliographic
Reference
[
Draft
Version
1.0]
Data
Standard.

XML
Tag:
None.
Method
Data
Standard
Std
No.:
1­
XXX
Version
1.0
 
Final
Draft
July
26,
2005
Page
9
Appendix
A
Method
Data
Standard
Structure
Diagram
Method
Data
Standard
1.0
Method
Identification
1.1
Method
Identifier
1.2
Method
Name
1.3
Method
Qualifier
Type
1.4
Method
Qualifier
1.5
Method
Description
Text
1.6
Method
Type
1.7
Method
Deviations
2.0
Method
Reference
