Import methods

You can import datasets into MINT using three different methods. This section describes the methods in more detail. The most common methods are:

• HTTP upload - for small datasets exported from native systems in XML, CSV or TXT formats

• OAI-PMH harvest - for larger datasets where an OAI-PMH repository has been establlished

HTTP upload

To upload your datasets using this method, you will first make an export from your home system. Here are a few points to bear in mind as you prepare your file for upload:

• XML is the preferred format especially if your metadata is written in a language that uses an extended character set.

• CSV file uploads are accepted but you should take care to choose UTF-8 encoding to preserve accents and special characters in your national language

• When preparing XML for upload

  • export each metadata record as a separate XML file and then create a zip archive containing all the individual records.

• When uploading a CSV file you will need to specify:

  • the delimiter or field separator used in the file

  • the escape character if any

Remote FTP/HTTP upload

You can upload a file from a remote location using either FTP or HTTP. The general recommendations on preparing XML and CSV files (above) apply to this method.

OAI-PMH

If you have established an OAI-PMH repository on your system, MINT can use this to harvest your metadata. Before starting the harvest you will need to contact the CARARE support team ([e-mail]) to ask for your OAI URL to be white-listed on MINT.

When you specify the import on MINT, you enter the base URL of the OAI-PMH repository, and then click on the magnifying glass icon to check its validity. If the base URL has not yet been white-listed this process will return an error. Once the base URL has been validated you can fetch data from the repository based on:

• OAI Set

• Namespace prefix or

• a specific date intervals by specifying the From date and To date