PersonGroupMember
RIXML 2.5 Element
Container for individual product author specification within a PersonGroup. Requires primaryIndicator attribute for Level One compliance, with optional sequence attribute for ordering multiple authors.
Used to define the members of a group, for example, the author(s) of the product. The PersonGroupMember highlights primary persons, and describes the display order of multiple persons.
Usage
Required when PersonGroup is present, with minimum one occurrence but can contain multiple instances. Must include primaryIndicator attribute, sequence attribute is optional for ordering.
Business Context
Enables detailed author specification and prioritization for research products, supporting proper attribution and expertise identification in research distribution systems.
Specification Guide
Overview
PersonGroupMember represents an individual contributor within a PersonGroup, linking a specific Person to the group along with their role, display ordering, and primary-contributor status. It is the mechanism by which RIXML attributes research authorship at the level of named individuals while preserving the surrounding team or department structure expressed by the parent PersonGroup. By separating group identity (carried on PersonGroup) from individual identity (carried inside PersonGroupMember), the model supports collaborative authorship, lead-author identification, and per-member role designation in a single consistent structure (sources: data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.15, user-guide-2.3 p.18).
Usage
PersonGroupMember appears as an optional child of PersonGroup and MAY repeat, with each instance describing one team member. Each PersonGroupMember MUST contain exactly one Person element, which carries the individual's name, identifiers, and (typically) ContactInfo (sources: user-guide-2.2 p.18, level-one-2.5 p.8). Key attributes: - sequence — controls display order when multiple members are present. - primaryIndicator — flags lead contributors; multiple members MAY be marked primary within the same group (sources: user-guide-2.1 p.18, user-guide-2.3 p.18). - role — specifies the individual's function (from RoleEnum); a publisher-defined value MAY be supplied when standard roles are insufficient. When every member of a group shares the same role, or when only the group as a whole is being identified, prefer the role attribute on the parent PersonGroup rather than repeating it on each PersonGroupMember [data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.28]. Group names belong in PersonGroup (its Name child), while personal names belong inside PersonGroupMember via Person — the two should not be mixed [data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.15].
Rules
- MUSTPersonGroupMember MUST contain exactly one Person element.[RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5 p.8] [RIXML User Guide v2.2 p.18] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.28]
- MUSTWhen PersonGroup is present in a Level One–compliant document, it MUST contain at least one PersonGroupMember.[RIXML Level One Addendum v2.2 p.13] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.3 p.7] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.3.1 p.7] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5 p.7]
- MUSTFor Level One compliance, every PersonGroupMember MUST carry the primaryIndicator attribute, even though it is optional in the full schema.[RIXML Level One Addendum v2.2 p.13] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.3 p.7] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.3.1 p.7] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5 p.7]
- SHOULDGroup names should be tagged in PersonGroup and individual names in the Person inside PersonGroupMember; groups and individuals should not be conflated within the same element.[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.15]
- SHOULDIn compilation reports, no single PersonGroupMember should be marked primary via primaryIndicator, and editors or compilers should not be listed as authors at all.[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.20]
- SHOULDWhen all members share the same role, or only the group is being identified, the role attribute on the parent PersonGroup should be used rather than repeating roles on each PersonGroupMember.[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.28]
Relationships
- child-ofPersonGroup — PersonGroupMember is an optional, repeatable child of PersonGroup. When PersonGroup is used to express authorship for Level One, at least one PersonGroupMember is required.
- requiresPerson — PersonGroupMember requires exactly one Person child, which carries the individual's identity, name and (typically) ContactInfo.
- associates-withContactInfo — Through its Person child, PersonGroupMember establishes the communication channels available for each contributor; analyst members are typically expected to provide ContactInfo such as email and phone for client communication.
- qualified-byPersonGroupMember.primaryIndicator — primaryIndicator flags a member as a lead contributor. The schema allows multiple members per group to be marked primary.
- qualified-byPersonGroupMember.sequence — sequence controls the display order of members within a PersonGroup.
- qualified-byPersonGroupMember.role — role specifies each member's function relative to the research content, drawn from RoleEnum, with a publisher-defined value available for custom roles.
Where It Fits
Canonical Path
Children
Definition
| Type | |
| Namespace | http://www.rixml.org/2017/9/RIXML |
| Min Occurs | 1 |
| Max Occurs | 1 |
Attributes
sequenceinteger |
Used to indicate any meaningful ordering of the Products contained in this Research item. Particularly useful in publishing compendium products made up of multiple sub-products. Ordering is ascending. optionalSince 2.1 |
primaryIndicatorYesNoEnum |
Indicates the primary PersonGroup, when more than one are specified. optionalSince 2.1 |
roleRoleEnum |
The role of the group relative to this research item. This is especially useful if only the group is specified without any members or if all members share the same role -- as in a group of document authors or meeting attendees. optionalSince 2.1 |
Children
PublisherDefinedValuestring0..1 |
If the role attribute has value PublisherDefined, then the publisher indicates the role in this element. optionalSince 2.1 |
PersonPersonType1..1 |
requiredSince 2.1 |
Example
<PersonGroupMember>
<Person> ... </Person>
</PersonGroupMember>Version History
Unchanged since introduction in RIXML 2.1
PersonGroupMember is present from at least RIXML 2.1 through 2.5/2.5.1 with a stable shape: optional and repeatable inside PersonGroup, containing exactly one Person, and supporting sequence, primaryIndicator and role (with a publisher-defined value for non-standard roles) (sources: user-guide-2.1 p.18, user-guide-2.3 p.18, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.28).
Across RIXML 2.2, 2.3, 2.3.1 and 2.5, the Level One compliance profile consistently elevates primaryIndicator from optional to required and mandates at least one PersonGroupMember whenever PersonGroup is present (sources: level-one-2.2 p.13, level-one-2.3 p.7, level-one-2.3.1 p.7, level-one-2.5 p.7).
In the v3 draft, the parent container is renamed to PersonGroupMemberList; PersonGroupMember becomes a required child of that list (with multiples allowed), primaryIndicator is replaced by an isPrimary boolean, and a rolePublisherDefinedValue string is introduced as the explicit slot for custom role descriptions [data-dictionary-v3-draft p.35].
Business Rules
Group names should appear in the Name element within PersonGroup, while individual names should appear in PersonGroupMember.Person element, with groups and people tagged separately
For Level One compliance, PersonGroupMember primaryIndicator attribute is required despite being optional in the full schema
Primary authors are persons or groups who primarily drafted the report, while other contributors can be included but should not be marked as primary, and non-contributing team members should not be included
In compilation reports, no single person should be marked as primary author, and editors or compilers should not be listed as authors
Design Decisions
The primaryIndicator attribute is required for PersonGroupMember elements in Level One even though optional in the full schema
To ensure proper identification of primary authors within a person group for Level One compliance
RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5, p.7
Semantic Relationships
Contrasts With1 relationship
Group names should be tagged in PersonGroup.Name while individual names should be tagged in PersonGroupMember.Person, maintaining separation between groups and individuals
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.15— Which Analysts to include in the RIXML File
Broadens1 relationship
The PersonGroup role attribute is particularly valuable when all members share the same role or when only the group is specified without individual members
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.28— primaryIndicator (Optional, YesNoEnum)
Qualifies1 relationship
PersonGroupMember primaryIndicator identifies which individual member has primary status within a group, allowing multiple primary members per group
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.29— Elements and Attributes:
Constrains2 relationships
For Level One compliance, when PersonGroup is present, it must contain at least one PersonGroupMember element
RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5, p.7— Research.Product.Source.Organization.PersonGroupMember
The PersonGroupMember element must contain exactly one Person element
RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5, p.8— Research.Product.Source.Organization.PersonGroupMember.Person
Requires1 relationship
Though the primaryIndicator attribute is optional in the full schema, Level One compliance requires it for PersonGroupMember
RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5, p.7— Research.Product.Source.Organization.PersonGroupMember