Discipline
RIXML 2.5 Element
High-level research classification based on intellectual and analytical methodology. Distinguishes between investment analysis, strategy formulation, and economic research, with optional research approach specification for strategy and investment disciplines.
Usage
Classification element with required disciplineType from enumerated values (Investment, Strategy, Economics). When disciplineType is Strategy or Investment, researchApproach becomes required to specify analytical technique (Fundamental, Quantitative, Technical).
Business Context
Essential for organizing research teams and routing content to appropriate audiences. Supports research workflow management and helps subscribers identify content matching their analytical preferences and expertise areas.
Specification Guide
Overview
Discipline is a classification element that categorises a research product by its high-level intellectual and analytical methodology — typically distinguishing between investment analysis, strategy formulation, and economic research. It carries a required disciplineType attribute (drawn from DisciplineTypeEnum) and an optional researchApproach attribute (from ResearchApproachEnum) that further refines the analytical technique as Fundamental, Quantitative, or Technical. The element enables consumers and distribution platforms to filter, route, and match research content according to analytical methodology.
Usage
Discipline appears as an optional child of ProductClassifications within the Context package, with multiple instances permitted to reflect interdisciplinary work (sources: data-dictionary-2.4 p.44, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.47, user-guide-2.3.1 p.32).
Authors must always set disciplineType when the element is present. When disciplineType is Strategy or Investment, researchApproach becomes required to specify the analytical technique (Fundamental, Quantitative, or Technical). For Economics, the researchApproach attribute remains optional (sources: data-dictionary-2.4 p.44, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.47, user-guide-2.3 p.32).
The element may also be referenced from organisational expertise contexts such as Expertise / Disciplines to describe an analyst's or firm's methodological specialisation [Company Report (Advanced) Sample v2.4]↗. In the v3 draft, Discipline is reorganised under a DisciplineList container and works alongside ProductMedium and ProductForm to provide comprehensive content framing [v3-enumlist-set1-publishing p.5].
Rules
- MUSTDiscipline MUST specify the disciplineType attribute whenever the element is present.[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.4 p.44] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.47] [RIXML User Guide v2.3 p.32]
- MUSTWhen disciplineType is
StrategyorInvestment, researchApproach MUST also be specified (Fundamental, Quantitative, or Technical).[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.4 p.44] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.47] [RIXML User Guide v2.3.1 p.32] [RIXML Research Suite Data Dictionary v3.0 (DRAFT) p.23]↗ - SHOULDEconomics-focused research products should include a ProductClassifications entry containing a Discipline with disciplineType set to
Economics, together with an appropriate Subject indicating the economic topic.[Economics Report (Basic) Sample v2.4]↗ - INFORMATIVEDiscipline as a child of ProductClassifications is not required by RIXML Level One; Level One implementations may omit discipline-specific categorisation to reduce classification complexity, but the element MAY still be included without breaking compliance.[RIXML Level One Addendum v2.3.1 p.18]
Relationships
- child-ofProductClassifications — Discipline is an optional, repeatable child of ProductClassifications that qualifies a product with its analytical methodology.
- constrained-byDisciplineTypeEnum — The required disciplineType attribute draws its values from DisciplineTypeEnum (Investment, Strategy, Economics).
- constrained-byResearchApproachEnum — The optional researchApproach attribute draws its values from ResearchApproachEnum (Fundamental, Quantitative, Technical) and becomes required for Strategy and Investment discipline types.
- child-ofDisciplines — Discipline also appears as a child of Disciplines within organisational Expertise contexts to describe methodological specialisation of an organisation or analyst.
- relatedProductFocus — When a product's main contribution is methodological rather than entity- or market-specific, ProductFocus may use the
Disciplinevalue from FocusEnum to signal that the Discipline classification carries the product's primary focus.
Where It Fits
Canonical Path
Definition
| Type | |
| Namespace | http://www.rixml.org/2017/9/RIXML |
| Min Occurs | 1 |
| Max Occurs | 1 |
| Content Model | Text content (string) |
Attributes
disciplineTypeDisciplineTypeEnum |
Indicates the high level discipline of the research product. requiredSince 2.1 |
researchApproachResearchApproachEnum |
Indicates the analytical technique used to create the content of the research product. Required when disciplineType is Strategy or Investment. optionalSince 2.1 |
Children
Contains text content (type: string)
This element's value is its text content. Attributes provide additional context.
Example
<Discipline disciplineType="Value">ABC-123</Discipline>Version History
Unchanged since introduction in RIXML 2.1
Discipline is established in the 2.3 / 2.3.1 user guides as an optional child of ProductClassifications with the same attribute model used through the 2.x line: required disciplineType and conditionally-required researchApproach (sources: user-guide-2.3 p.32, user-guide-2.3.1 p.32).
In RIXML Level One (2.3.1 profile), Discipline under ProductClassifications is not required, reflecting Level One's reduced classification surface [level-one-2.3.1 p.18].
Versions 2.4 and 2.5/2.5.1 retain the element and its conditional-attribute rule unchanged, and extend its usage into organisational Expertise descriptions (sources: data-dictionary-2.4 p.44, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.47, example-company-advanced-2.4).
The v3 draft reorganises Discipline under a new DisciplineList container (in place of ProductClassifications for this purpose) where the element is required with multiples allowed. The attribute model and the Strategy/Investment → researchApproach conditional are preserved, and no PublisherDefined extensions are available for either enumeration (sources: data-dictionary-v3-draft p.23, v3-enumlist-set1-publishing p.5).
Business Rules
When disciplineType is Strategy or Investment, the researchApproach attribute is required
Semantic Relationships
Requires2 relationships
The researchApproach attribute becomes required when the disciplineType is set to Strategy
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.47— Discipline
The researchApproach attribute becomes required when the disciplineType is set to Investment
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.47— Discipline