# Fixed public dataset field guide

This package contains published metadata, not a full-text archive. `manifest.json`
identifies the version, export timestamp, publication cutoff, record-level counts,
review-state counts and SHA-256 of each asset. Keep the file and manifest used in
your work. A checksum identifies bytes; it is not proof of factual accuracy.
Fixed versions are retained at distinct URLs; corrections require a new version.
No DOI or independent repository preservation is claimed for this website copy.

`eu-ai-policy-observatory.sqlite` is the relational export. `sqlite-schema.json`
enumerates every exported table, column, declared SQLite type, primary-key position
and foreign-key link. `public-data.json` is the nested website export: its document
objects embed linked institutions, sources, policies, concepts and evidence fields.
The export timestamp is not a source publication or review date.

## Units and identifiers

Documents, policies, events, institutions, sources, concepts and relationships are
different units. Document `id` is stable within this dataset and `slug` forms the
website route. `record_level` separates principal, supporting, version and attachment
records. Files, draft stages and consolidated versions must not be counted as
independent laws. Policy groupings are editorial aids, not legal instruments.
Link tables join entity IDs; arrays and multi-label links overlap and cannot be
summed as mutually exclusive counts.

## Dates, legal status and editorial publication

`document_date` must be read with `document_date_kind`: issue, publication,
institutional adoption, official act date or consolidation. `publication_date`
means release of the represented official manifestation, not necessarily adoption.
Null publication dates remain unknown; they are not replaced with zero, adoption
dates or download times. Evidence objects store source IDs, locators and meanings.
Additional dates retain their kind and precision. Some SQLite evidence columns
store JSON strings; decode those strings as JSON before interpreting nested values.
`legal_status`, `version_status` and `publication_status` are separate dimensions:
a published database record can represent an unadopted draft. Events have their
own dates and do not establish the publication date of a linked document.

## Relevance, classification and review

`relevance_class` distinguishes direct substantive AI relevance, historical
precursors and indirect automated-decision legal context. Sector tags, concepts,
policy groups and corpus tiers are editorial annotations, not authoritative legal
conclusions or a completed independent coding study. A missing tag or link is not
evidence that a topic or relationship is absent. Mapping and annotation coverage
are uneven and must be checked for the selected cohort.

Use `documents.historical_review_status` for expanded evidence review, including
contemporary records; the column name reflects an earlier schema extension.
`verified` means that review is recorded as completed under the documented rules.
`legacy_review_pending` retains unresolved evidence qualifications. It does not
mean the source is necessarily false. The separate legacy assessment review field
is not a substitute. Review credit does not establish independent double-review.
Review status, relevance, record level and version status are independent choices.

For example, the following selects all record levels with direct AI relevance and
completed expanded review. It is a transparent selection, not a recommendation
that all these files are independent observations or fit every research question.

```sql
SELECT id, short_title, record_level, document_date, publication_date
FROM documents
WHERE relevance_class = 'direct_ai_substantive'
  AND historical_review_status = 'verified'
ORDER BY id;
```

## Evidence, access and rights

Source URLs, retrieval dates, verification notes and field locators identify the
basis of recorded claims. Institution roles distinguish authorship from hosting,
publishing, commissioning and adoption. Relationship basis distinguishes official
textual connections from analytical links; nearby map positions do not add edges.

`document_snapshots.content_hash` describes captured bytes where recorded.
A non-null `archived_path` identifies a preserved copy relative to the private
maintenance repository, not a public download URL. Null means no recoverable copy
has been linked in that field, not that no evidence exists elsewhere. Source
preservation does not independently verify every claim. The package omits preserved
originals, private candidate logs and unpublished materials.

See `LICENSE.md`: CC BY 4.0 applies to the project's own published metadata and
annotations, not third-party originals or quotations. `CITATION.cff` gives versioned
attribution. Also cite the official text and exact version when using its contents.