PersonLabel
RIXML 2.5 Element
Provides alternative identifiers for a person within specific vendor or distribution contexts. Allows assignment of multiple platform-specific author codes while maintaining a single primary personID.
This element can be used to include a label by which this person is known in the context named in the personLabelContext attribute. Useful for supplying author codes that have meaning on specific vendor platforms.
Usage
Optional child of Person element. Can appear multiple times with different personLabelContext values. Used when the same author needs different identification codes across various distribution platforms.
Business Context
Solves the historical challenge of author identification across multiple vendor systems by enabling each platform to use its own author coding scheme while maintaining referential integrity in the source system.
Specification Guide
Overview
PersonLabel provides alternative, context-specific identification codes for a person — typically vendor- or platform-specific author codes used by research aggregators and distribution systems. It exists to solve a long-standing limitation in RIXML: the personID attribute carries only a single value, which is insufficient when the same author must be recognised by different identification schemes across multiple downstream platforms. By allowing multiple labels per person, each tagged with the platform context in which it applies, PersonLabel enables consistent attribution and routing across a multi-vendor distribution ecosystem while leaving personID reserved for the publishing firm's own unique identifier.
Usage
PersonLabel is an optional child of Person and may appear zero or more times, with each occurrence carrying a different vendor- or platform-specific identifier for the same individual (sources: data-dictionary-2.4 p.30, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.33, release-notes-2.3 p.4). The element's text content holds the label/code value, and the optional personLabelContext attribute identifies the vendor platform or system in which that code has meaning — conventionally a vendor mnemonic (sources: data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.33, user-guide-2.3 p.19).
Recommended practice is to use personID for the firm's internal unique identifier and add one PersonLabel for each external distribution channel or aggregator that requires its own author code [data-dictionary-2.4 p.15]. The element is essential for publishers distributing through multiple vendor platforms that each maintain proprietary author-identification schemes.
In the RIXML v3 draft, PersonLabel is restructured as a required child of a new PersonLabelList container element, with multiple instances allowed [data-dictionary-v3-draft p.32]. Note that PersonLabelList is part of the v3 draft and is not present in the published 2.x schemas.
Rules
- SHOULDUse personID for the author's firm-internal unique identifier and add one PersonLabel per aggregation vendor or distribution channel that requires its own code.[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.15] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.4 p.15]
- SHOULDWhen PersonLabel is used, the personLabelContext attribute should be supplied to indicate which vendor platform or system the label applies to. The attribute is defined as optional in the schema, but omitting it leaves the label ambiguous.[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.33] [RIXML User Guide v2.3 p.19] [RIXML Release Notes v2.3 p.4]
- MAYPersonLabel may appear multiple times within a single Person, with each instance carrying a different platform-specific code.[RIXML Release Notes v2.3 p.4] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.4 p.30] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.33]
Relationships
- child-ofPerson — PersonLabel is an optional, repeatable child of Person, qualifying it with vendor- or platform-specific identification labels.
- qualified-byPersonLabel.personLabelContext — The personLabelContext attribute identifies the vendor platform or system context in which the label value is meaningful, typically a vendor mnemonic.
- complementsPerson.personID — PersonLabel complements personID by carrying additional vendor-specific codes; personID remains the single firm-internal identifier while PersonLabel supplies external/platform identifiers.
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
personLabelContextstring |
This attribute must be used to indicate the specific context for the person label. This would typically be a mnemonic for an individual vendor platform in which the labeled person has a presence. For example, it may be useful for identifying authors of research contributed to a particular vendor platform. Here, a vendor is defined as an organization outside the buy-side and sell-side community of financial services firms which provides platforms or tools used by participants in the investment research economy. optionalSince 2.3 |
Children
Contains text content (type: string)
This element's value is its text content. Attributes provide additional context.
Example
<PersonLabel>ABC-123</PersonLabel>Version History
Unchanged since introduction in RIXML 2.3
PersonLabel was introduced in RIXML 2.3 as a new optional sub-element of Person with zero-to-many cardinality, together with its personLabelContext attribute [release-notes-2.3 p.4]. The motivation was the inability of the single-valued personID attribute to carry multiple author codes required by different aggregators (sources: best-practices-guide p.11, p.17).
Its definition and usage remained stable through 2.4 and 2.5/2.5.1, where it continued as an optional repeatable child of Person (sources: data-dictionary-2.4 p.30, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.33).
In the RIXML v3 draft, the element is repositioned as a required child of a new PersonLabelList container (still with multiple instances allowed) and its content is explicitly typed as xs:string [data-dictionary-v3-draft p.32]. This change is draft-only and not part of any published 2.x schema.
Business Rules
PersonLabelContext attribute must be used when PersonLabel element is present
The personID should be used for the unique identifier used by the author's firm, while PersonLabel elements should be added as required by each aggregation vendor or distribution channel
Design Decisions
The PersonLabel element was designed to support multiple author codes for different vendor platforms while maintaining a single personID
Publishers needed to provide different author identification codes for various distribution channels and vendor platforms, but RIXML only provides one personID tag. The PersonLabel element with personLabelContext attribute allows multiple vendor-specific codes while keeping the personID as the firm's unique identifier
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.15
Semantic Relationships
Qualifies1 relationship
PersonLabel elements provide vendor-specific author codes while personID serves as the firm's internal unique identifier
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.15— Author identification
Requires1 relationship
The personLabelContext attribute is mandatory when using PersonLabel to specify the vendor platform or context for the person label
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.33— Elements and Attributes: