Common Fields

Common Fields#

This section describes the JSON fields that are common to the schema definitions of all events. These fields are at the root level of the event JSON documents.

This section presents the common fields in alphabetical order. Actual events in your data package can include these fields in different sequences.

accept_language Field#

Type: string

Details: The value from the HTTP Accept-Language request-header field. For more information, see the HTTP/1.1 header field definition for Accept-Language.

History: Added 23 Feb 2015.

agent Field#

Type: string

Details: Browser agent string of the user who triggered the event.

context Field#

Type: object

Details:

The context field includes member fields that provide contextual information.

  • This field contains a core set of member fields that are common to all events.

  • For certain events with additional contextual requirements, this field contains a set of additional member fields that are common to those events only.

  • For any event, this field can also include one or more additional member fields. For more information about the context member fields for an event, see the description of that event later in this section.

context Member Fields Common to All Events#

The following member fields are present in the context field for all events.

context Member Field

Type

Details

course_id

string

Identifies the course that generated the event.

org_id

string

The organization that lists the course.

path

string

The URL that generated the event.

user_id

number

Identifies the individual who is performing the action.

Note

Occasionally, an event is recorded with a missing or blank context.user_id value. This can occur when a user logs out, or the login session times out, while a browser window remains open. Subsequent actions are logged, but the system cannot supply the user identifier. EdX recommends that you ignore these events during analysis.

context Member Fields for Applicable Events#

When applicable for an event, the context field also includes these member fields to provide additional information.

context Member Field

Type

Details

course_user_tags

object

Contains the key(s) and value(s) from the user_api_usercoursetag table for the user.

module

object

Provides identifying information for the components involved in a server event.

For example, in a server problem_check event, the module field indicates the problem component that the server checked successfully. The member fields are display_name and usage_key.

For modules that are used in a course to present content from a library, module also includes the original_usage_key and original_usage_version fields. These member fields provide a consistent way to identify components that are sourced from a library, and can be used to identify the source library.

The context member fields are blank if values cannot be determined.

History: usage_key added 28 Jan 2015. path added 07 May 2014. course_user_tags added 12 Mar 2014. user_id added 6 Nov 2013. Other event fields may duplicate this data. Added 23 Oct 2013.

event Field#

Type: object

Details: This field includes member fields that identify specifics of each triggered event. Different member fields are supplied for different events. For more information about the event member fields for an event, see the description of that event later in this section.

event_source Field#

Type: string

Details: Specifies the source of the interaction that triggered the event. The values in this field are:

  • ‘browser’

  • ‘mobile’

  • ‘server’

  • ‘task’

History: Updated 16 Oct 2014 to identify events emitted from mobile devices.

event_type Field#

Type: string

Details: The type of event triggered. Values depend on event_source.

Student Events and Course Team Events later in this section provide descriptions of each type of event that is included in data packages. To locate information about a specific event type, see the Alphabetical Tracking Log Event List.

host Field#

Type: string

Details: The site visited by the user, for example, courses.edx.org.

ip Field#

Type: string

Details: IP address of the user who triggered the event. Empty for events that originate on mobile devices.

name Field#

Type: string

Details: Identifies the type of event triggered.

History: Server and mobile events added beginning on 07 May 2014 include a name field. When this field is present for an event, it supersedes the event_type field.

page Field#

Type: string

Details: The ‘$URL’ of the page the user was visiting when the event was emitted.

For video events that originate on mobile devices, identifies the URL for the video component.

referer Field#

Type: string

Details: The URI from the HTTP Referer request-header field. For more information, see the HTTP/1.1 header field definition for Referer.

History: Added 23 Feb 2015.

session Field#

Type: string

Details: This 32-character value is a key that identifies the user’s session. All browser events and the server enrollment events include a value for the session. Other server events and mobile events do not include a session value.

time Field#

Type: string

Details: Gives the UTC time at which the event was emitted in ‘YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.xxxxxx’ format.

username Field#

Type: string

Details: The username of the user who caused the event to be emitted.

Note

Occasionally, an event is recorded with a blank username value. This can occur when a user logs out, or the login session times out, while a browser window remains open. Subsequent actions are logged, but the system cannot supply the user identifier. EdX recommends that you ignore these events during analysis.

Maintenance chart

Review Date

Working Group Reviewer

Release

Test situation
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