sosa:Observation
The sosa:Observation class represents the act of observing a property or phenomenon using a sensor, sampler, or procedure. In SDL, sosa:Observation is used to model the results of scientific measurements or analyses performed on physical samples or environments.
Definition
URI: http://www.w3.org/ns/sosa/Observation
A sosa:Observation is an act that results in the determination of the value of a property of a feature of interest.
Usage in SDL
In SDL, sosa:Observation is used to:
- Capture measurement events and analytic results
- Link samples or features of interest to observed properties
- Associate values, units, time, and responsible agents with recorded results
- Trace provenance of derived data products
Observations are often treated as prov:Entity to support attribution and workflow traceability.
Properties
| Property | Description | Optional |
|---|---|---|
| sosa:hasFeatureOfInterest | The entity whose property is being observed | No |
| sosa:observedProperty | The property that is being measured or described | No |
| sosa:hasResult | The value or outcome of the observation | No |
| sosa:madeBySensor | The sensor or system that performed the observation | Yes |
| sosa:usedProcedure | Procedure followed to obtain the observation | Yes |
| sosa:resultTime | Timestamp when the result became available | Yes |
| sosa:phenomenonTime | Time at which the observed phenomenon occurred | Yes |
| prov:wasGeneratedBy | Activity that generated the observation | Yes |
| prov:wasAttributedTo | Agent responsible for the observation | Yes |
| dcterms:identifier | Identifier for the observation | Yes |
| dcterms:title | Human-readable title | Yes |
| dcterms:description | Description or notes about the observation | Yes |
Composition
Observations in SDL may:
- Be associated with one or more sosa:Sample, prov:Activity, or prov:Agent
- Be used as evidence for derived datasets
- Serve as entries in catalogs via dcat:Resource
ex:obs1 a sosa:Observation , prov:Entity ;
sosa:hasFeatureOfInterest ex:sampleA ;
sosa:observedProperty ex:ph ;
sosa:hasResult ex:result7_2 ;
sosa:madeBySensor ex:probe1 ;
sosa:resultTime "2024-04-15T10:30:00Z"^^xsd:dateTime .
Example — Observation with Sample and Result
ex:sampleA a sosa:Sample ;
dcterms:title "Soil Sample from Plot A" .
ex:result7_2 a qudt:QuantityValue ;
qudt:numericValue "7.2"^^xsd:decimal ;
qudt:unit qudt:PH-UNIT .
ex:obs1 a sosa:Observation , prov:Entity ;
sosa:hasFeatureOfInterest ex:sampleA ;
sosa:observedProperty ex:ph ;
sosa:hasResult ex:result7_2 ;
sosa:resultTime "2024-04-15T10:30:00Z"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy ex:activity3 ;
prov:wasAttributedTo ex:labTech1 .
Related Classes
- sosa:Sample — may be the feature of interest
- prov:Activity — generating process
- qudt:QuantityValue — type of result used in scientific observations
- dcat:Resource — observations may be cataloged or referenced
See Also
sosa:Observation enables granular, semantically rich modeling of scientific measurements in SDL. It supports provenance, cataloging, and data integration across disciplines.