referansna

Referansna is a hypothetical framework used in discussions of bibliographic metadata and linked data. It is not an official standard, but it is described as a concept for representing, linking, and preserving references across digital documents in a consistent and machine-readable way.

Etymology and scope

The name Referansna blends the root for reference with a nominal suffix, signaling its role as a referential data model. The term is used primarily in theoretical or experimental contexts to illustrate how bibliographic items could be modeled and interconnected beyond traditional formats.

Description

Referansna envisions a minimal yet extensible data model for bibliographic items, their relationships (such as cites and is-cited-by), and provenance information. Each reference would receive a persistent identifier and can include metadata such as title, authors, year, venue, language, and access URL. The model supports versioning to track updates to metadata and can link to external identifiers like DOIs, ORCIDs, or other authority records. It is designed to be compatible with semantic web technologies, notably RDF and JSON-LD, allowing integration into knowledge graphs and cross-system queries.

Features

Key features include persistent identifiers, cross-document linking, provenance and versioning, and modular extensions for abstracts, keywords, licensing, and access rights. The framework emphasizes interoperability with existing standards and aims to facilitate advanced search, reasoning, and citation analytics.

Applications and reception

Potential applications include digital libraries, academic publishing platforms, and scholarly knowledge graphs. Advantages cited in theoretical discussions are improved traceability of sources and smoother interoperability across platforms; criticisms focus on the lack of formal specification, governance, and broad consensus required for real-world adoption.

See also

Bibliographic metadata, crossref, DOIs, linked data, citation graph.

References

No formal implementation or standardization exists for Referansna; the article describes it as a conceptual tool.