`provenance`¶

The provenance section captures lineage-how this protocol relates to prior experiments, datasets, or registry entries. It is essential for reproducibility and regulatory traceability.

Field Reference¶

Field	Type	Required	Units	Allowed Types	Constraints / Enum	Example
`relation_type`	string	optional	-	enum	`derived_from`, `variant_of`, `supersedes`	`"derived_from"`
`source_type`	string	optional	-	enum	`labfile`, `dataset`, `publication`, `instrument`, `repository`, `external_db`	`"labfile"`
`doi`	string	optional	-	string	DOI or other persistent identifier	`"10.5281/zenodo.99999"`

Each provenance record is an object. You can extend entries with additional keys such as title, version, access_url, commit, timestamp, or license to express more context.

Relationship Types¶

derived_from - The protocol is a transformation or downstream analysis of the referenced asset (e.g., deriving a derivative dataset).
variant_of - Minor modifications; the core procedure remains similar with slight adjustments.
supersedes - The current Labfile officially replaces the referenced protocol; registries may mark older versions deprecated.

Source Types¶

labfile - Another Labfile ID or URL (labfile://, HTTPS).
dataset - Data packages deposited in repositories (Zenodo, Dryad).
publication - Journals, preprints, or SOP manuals.
instrument - Device calibration or configuration source.
repository - Git or version-control repositories.
external_db - LIMS, ELN, or regulatory databases.

Example¶

provenance:
  - relation_type: "derived_from"
    source_type: "dataset"
    doi: "10.5281/zenodo.98765"
    title: "RNA-Seq baseline data"
  - relation_type: "supersedes"
    source_type: "labfile"
    doi: "10.5281/zenodo.87654"
    notes: "Adds automated liquid handling support"

Best Practices¶

Use persistent identifiers (DOI, Handle, accession numbers). For Git repositories reference commit SHAs:
repository_url: "https://github.com/labfile-org/example" + commit: "a1b2c3d4".
Keep the array ordered chronologically to simplify diff reviews.
Mirror provenance entries in attachments when sharing related reports to close the traceability loop.
Coordinate with extensions if domain-specific lineage metadata is required (e.g., clinical_ext.study_id).

Validation Notes¶

Validators enforce enumerated relation_type and source_type lists; unexpected values raise schema errors.
DOIs must comply with standard syntax (10. prefix). Non-DOI identifiers should include a URI scheme.
Missing references or unreachable IDs may trigger reference integrity (R class) warnings during registry ingestion.

provenance¶