Legislature Metadata

Legislature dataset metadata

Standardise the title, description and coverage.frequency of a PEP dataset that covers members of a national (or subnational) legislature. Target file: $ARGUMENTS

General metadata rules live in zavod/docs/metadata.md. This skill defines the legislature-specific pattern for title, description and coverage.frequency only. For every other field — summary, publisher, data, tags, maintainer comments — follow the /dataset-metadata skill; don't touch them here unless the user asked for a full metadata pass.

1. Read the crawler first

Open the dataset's entry_point (usually crawler.py next to the .yml) and note the scope facts the description depends on:

• unicameral vs bicameral, and (for a bicameral body) which chamber this is;
• seat count, term length, and how members are elected (e.g. proportional representation, by district, appointed);
• whether the dataset is current-only or also historical (look for earliest_term_start / a PEP look-back cutoff → "Current and historical");
• deliberate exclusions (e.g. alternates or substitutes skipped).

2. Title → <Country> Members of <Parliament name>

Use the English country name and the legislature's common English name:

• Georgia Members of Parliament
• Mongolia Members of the State Great Khural
• Japan Members of the House of Councillors

For one chamber of a bicameral body, name the chamber (Romania Members of the Chamber of Deputies). Keep any established acronym the file already uses only if it reads naturally; prefer the plain form.

3. Description — the legislature pattern

Follow the description guidance in zavod/docs/metadata.md, including its "Keep out of the description" rules. One short paragraph, optionally two:

Paragraph 1 — who the members are + institutional context. Scope-prefixed ("Current members of …" / "Current and historical members of …"), naming the body with its original-language name in parentheses, then the defining facts: chamber type, seat count, how and for how long members are elected, and one clause on the chamber's role ("… and hold the country's legislative power, including passing laws and approving the budget."). For an SAR or subnational body say "the region's" rather than "the country's".

Optional paragraph 2 — scope notes. Only when there is something substantive to say: deliberate exclusions ("alternates are not included"), current-only vs historical coverage, a bounded period.

Worked example

title: Georgia Members of Parliament
description: |
  Current members of the Parliament of Georgia, the country's unicameral national
  legislature. Its 150 members are elected under proportional representation for a
  four-year term and hold the country's legislative power, including passing laws,
  approving the budget, and overseeing the government.

4. coverage.frequency: monthly

Set coverage.frequency to monthly (leave coverage.start and any schedule unchanged). If it is already monthly, leave it.

Verify

Re-read the edited fields. Confirm the seat count / term / election method match the source, any scope note reflects what the crawler actually does, and no sourcing, mechanics, or per-field language remains.

If the user asked for a full metadata pass, continue with the /dataset-metadata checklist for the remaining fields.