HomeResearch GuideDescription Fields

Description Fields

Below is a list of descriptive fields in the database with an explanation of the type of description created for the field. Not all items have description in all fields-- when information is unavailable, the fields are left blank. 

The project has utilized Dublin Core Metadata Schema as our descriptive elements (fields) and Describing Archives: A Content Standard as the standard for how descriptive information is formatted and structured.


All Items

Title: The title of the item or collection of items being described.

Creator: An entity or entities responsible for creating the intellectual content of the item.

Description: A brief account of the content; summary or abstract of the content of the item.

Subject: What the contents of item is about expressed by controlled local and authorized headings, keywords, phrases, names or other terms for significant people, places, and events.

Type: The nature or genre of the digital version of the item. This includes oral history, text and still image.

Format: Describes the software, hardware or other equipment needed to display or operate the item.

Extent: The physical size or duration of the item.

Language: Indicates language(s) of the intellectual content of the resource. Most of the content of this repository is in English, noted by an [eng]. Some oral histories and items are in Japanese, denoted by [jpn] and also some Pidgin English, which is denoted by [cpe].

Date: Creation or modification dates for the original resource.

Spatial Coverage: Geographic location(s) of the intellectual content of the resource.

Source: The repository from which the item being described is derived. 

Identifier: A record number that uniquely identifies the resource, linking the digital object back to the original physical object.

Oral History Items

Oral histories have additional descriptive fields, when content is available. These fields describe the biographic information of the veteran (narrator) for which an item (oral history) is described.

URL: The address to view or listen to the video or audio recording of the item being described.

Date of Birth: The date of birth of the narrator (veteran).

Location of Birth: The location of birth of the narrator.

Incarceration Facilities: Temporary Detention Facilities and American Concentration Camps in which the narrator was removed to, mandated by Executive Order 9066. Read more about the incarceration experience and terminology related to incarceration: https://jacl.org/education/power-of-words/.

War or Conflict: The war or conflict in which the narrator was active military personnel/ was a soldier.

Branch of Service: The branch of service in which the narrator participated.

Entrance into Service: The way in which the narrator entered the military, usually indicated as volunteered or drafted.

Nickname: Any name other than the narrator’s given name for which she/he has been known.

Location of Basic Training: The military sites at which the narrator received basic combat training and if applicable, language training.

Unit of Service: The unit(s) in which the narrator was an active member.

Campaigns/Battles: The campaigns and/or battles in which the narrator participated as a soldier.