DokumentAktør Junction Table

The DokumentAktør junction table models the many-to-many relationships between documents (Dokument) and actors (Aktør) in the Danish Parliament API. This role-based junction table captures the complex communication patterns and document workflows that drive parliamentary democracy, providing semantic context for every document-actor relationship.

Overview

• Entity Name: DokumentAktør
• Endpoint: https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør
• Purpose: Links documents to actors with specific semantic roles
• Pattern: Role-based junction table (Pattern 2)
• Role System: 25 distinct role types via DokumentAktørRolle
• Coverage: Extensive coverage of all parliamentary documents

Architecture

Junction Table Pattern

graph TD
    A[Dokument<br/>Documents] <--> B[DokumentAktør<br/>Junction + rolleid]
    B <--> C[Aktør<br/>Actors]
    B -.-> D[DokumentAktørRolle<br/>25 Role Types]

    D --> E[Afsender<br/>Sender ID: 1]
    D --> F[Til<br/>To ID: 8]
    D --> G[Minister<br/>Minister ID: 5]
    D --> H[Besvaret af<br/>Answered by ID: 4]
    D --> I[... 21 more roles]

    style B fill:#fff3e0
    style D fill:#e1f5fe

The DokumentAktør table doesn't just link documents to actorsit provides rich semantic context through the rolleid field that references the DokumentAktørRolle entity, creating a three-dimensional relationship model that captures:

1. Which document is related to which actor
2. How they are related (through role semantics)
3. When the relationship was established or updated

Field Reference

Core Fields

Field	Type	Description	Example
id	Int32	Primary key, unique relationship identifier	123456
dokumentid	Int32	Foreign key to Dokument entity	12345
aktørid	Int32	Foreign key to Aktør entity	6789
rolleid	Int32	Foreign key to DokumentAktørRolle entity	1
opdateringsdato	DateTime	Last update timestamp	"2025-09-09T14:30:22.407"

Relationship Structure

• dokumentid ’ Links to Dokument entity
• aktørid ’ Links to Aktør entity
• rolleid ’ Links to DokumentAktørRolle

Role System Overview

The DokumentAktørRolle system defines 25 distinct role types that capture every aspect of parliamentary document workflows:

Key Role Categories

Communication Roles

• Afsender (ID: 1) - Document sender/originator
• Til (ID: 8) - Primary recipient
• Adressat (ID: 10) - Formal addressee
• Modtager (ID: 11) - General recipient
• Kopi til (ID: 2) - Copy recipient

Submission Roles

• Stiller (ID: 12) - Document submitter
• Forslagsstiller (ID: 21) - Proposal author
• Afgivet af (ID: 16) - Formal submitter

Response Roles

• Spørger (ID: 6) - Questioner in parliamentary inquiries
• Medspørger (ID: 7) - Co-questioner
• Besvaret af (ID: 4) - Official responder

Administrative Roles

• Minister (ID: 5) - Government minister associated
• Ministerområde (ID: 9) - Ministry area responsibility
• Behandles i (ID: 20) - Processing committee/body

Representation Roles

• Ordfører (ID: 24) - Spokesperson
• Taler (ID: 25) - Document presenter/speaker

For complete role definitions, see Document-Actor Roles Reference

Common Query Examples

Basic Queries

# Get latest 10 document-actor relationships
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24top=10&%24orderby=opdateringsdato%20desc"

# Get specific relationship by ID
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør(123456)"

# Count total relationships
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24inlinecount=allpages&%24top=1"

Document-Centric Queries

# Get all actors for a specific document
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=dokumentid%20eq%2012345&%24expand=Aktør,DokumentAktørRolle"

# Find who sent a document
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=dokumentid%20eq%2012345%20and%20rolleid%20eq%201&%24expand=Aktør"

# Find document recipients
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=dokumentid%20eq%2012345%20and%20rolleid%20eq%208&%24expand=Aktør"

Actor-Centric Queries

# Get all documents for a specific actor
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=aktørid%20eq%206789&%24expand=Dokument,DokumentAktørRolle"

# Find documents sent by an actor
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=aktørid%20eq%206789%20and%20rolleid%20eq%201&%24expand=Dokument"

# Find documents where actor is minister
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=aktørid%20eq%206789%20and%20rolleid%20eq%205&%24expand=Dokument"

Role-Based Analysis

# Find all senders across all documents
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%201&%24expand=Aktør,Dokument&%24top=50"

# Parliamentary questions and answers
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%206%20or%20rolleid%20eq%204&%24expand=Aktør,DokumentAktørRolle&%24top=20"

# Minister involvement in documents  
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%205&%24expand=Aktør,Dokument&%24top=20"

Time-Based Queries

# Recent document-actor relationships
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=opdateringsdato%20gt%20datetime'2025-09-01T00:00:00'&%24expand=DokumentAktørRolle&%24top=20"

# Document relationships from specific date
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=opdateringsdato%20ge%20datetime'2025-09-09T00:00:00'&%24orderby=opdateringsdato&%24top=10"

Advanced Relationship Analysis

Document Workflow Tracking

# Complete document workflow - all actors involved
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=dokumentid%20eq%2012345&%24expand=Aktør,DokumentAktørRolle&%24orderby=rolleid"

# Question-answer chains
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=(rolleid%20eq%206%20or%20rolleid%20eq%204)&%24expand=Dokument,Aktør,DokumentAktørRolle&%24top=10"

Communication Pattern Analysis

# Most active document senders
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%201&%24expand=Aktør&%24orderby=aktørid&%24top=100"

# Ministry communication patterns
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%209&%24expand=Aktør,Dokument&%24top=50"

Multi-Role Analysis

# Actors with multiple roles in same document
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24expand=Aktør,DokumentAktørRolle&%24orderby=dokumentid,aktørid&%24top=50"

# Parliamentary question submitters vs answerers
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%206%20or%20rolleid%20eq%204&%24expand=Aktør,Dokument&%24orderby=rolleid&%24top=30"

Performance Optimization

Efficient Querying Strategies

# Good: Specific document with needed fields only
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=dokumentid%20eq%2012345&%24select=id,aktørid,rolleid&%24expand=Aktør(%24select=navn),DokumentAktørRolle(%24select=rolle)"

# Good: Filter by role first, then expand
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%201&%24expand=Aktør(%24select=navn)&%24top=20"

# Avoid: Large unfiltered expansions
# curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24expand=Dokument,Aktør&%24top=100"  # Can be very slow

Pagination for Large Result Sets

# Paginate through document relationships
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%201&%24skip=0&%24top=100&%24orderby=opdateringsdato%20desc"
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%201&%24skip=100&%24top=100&%24orderby=opdateringsdato%20desc"

Use Case Examples

1. Document Authorship Analysis

def get_document_authors(document_id):
    """Find all authors/senders of a document"""
    # Role ID 1 = Afsender (Sender), Role ID 21 = Forslagsstiller (Proposer)
    filter_query = f"dokumentid eq {document_id} and (rolleid eq 1 or rolleid eq 21)"
    expand = "Aktør($select=navn),DokumentAktørRolle($select=rolle)"
    return get_document_actors(filter_query=filter_query, expand=expand)

2. Parliamentary Question Tracking

def get_question_answer_pairs():
    """Track parliamentary questions and their answers"""
    # Role ID 6 = Spørger (Questioner), Role ID 4 = Besvaret af (Answered by)
    filter_query = "rolleid eq 6 or rolleid eq 4"
    expand = "Dokument($select=titel,dato),Aktør($select=navn),DokumentAktørRolle($select=rolle)"
    return get_document_actors(filter_query=filter_query, expand=expand, orderby="dokumentid,rolleid")

3. Ministry Communication Analysis

def get_minister_documents(actor_id):
    """Get all documents where an actor serves as minister"""
    # Role ID 5 = Minister
    filter_query = f"aktørid eq {actor_id} and rolleid eq 5"
    expand = "Dokument($select=titel,dato,dokumenttypeid)"
    return get_document_actors(filter_query=filter_query, expand=expand)

4. Document Distribution Analysis

def get_document_recipients(document_id):
    """Find all recipients of a document"""
    # Role IDs: 8=Til, 2=Kopi til, 10=Adressat, 11=Modtager
    recipient_roles = "8,2,10,11"
    filter_query = f"dokumentid eq {document_id} and rolleid in ({recipient_roles})"
    expand = "Aktør($select=navn,typeid),DokumentAktørRolle($select=rolle)"
    return get_document_actors(filter_query=filter_query, expand=expand)

Data Model Integration

Relationship Network

The DokumentAktør junction table connects to the broader API ecosystem:

graph TD
    subgraph "Document Workflow"
        D[Dokument] <--> DA[DokumentAktør]
        DA <--> A[Aktør]
        DA -.-> DAR[DokumentAktørRolle]
    end

    subgraph "Extended Relationships"
        D <--> SD[SagDokument] <--> S[Sag]
        S <--> SA[SagAktør] <--> A
        D <--> ED[EmneordDokument] <--> E[Emneord]
        D <--> DD[DagsordenspunktDokument] <--> DP[Dagsordenspunkt]
    end

    subgraph "Classifications"
        D -.-> DT[Dokumenttype]
        D -.-> DK[Dokumentkategori]
        A -.-> AT[Aktørtype]
        DAR -.-> RC[Role Categories]
    end

    style DA fill:#fff3e0
    style SA fill:#fff3e0
    style DAR fill:#e1f5fe

Cross-Entity Analysis

# Documents and their case relationships via actors
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24expand=Dokument/SagDokument/Sag,Aktør&%24filter=rolleid%20eq%201&%24top=10"

# Actor roles across documents and cases
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/Aktør?%24expand=DokumentAktør/DokumentAktørRolle,SagAktør/SagAktørRolle&%24filter=id%20eq%2012345"

Important Implementation Notes

Data Volume Considerations

• Large Result Sets: Junction tables can contain millions of relationships
• Always use filtering: Unfiltered queries can timeout or return truncated results
• Pagination Required: Maximum 100 records per request
• Expansion Impact: Each expansion multiplies response size

Role System Complexity

• 25 Different Roles: Each with specific semantic meaning
• Duplicate Role IDs: Some roles appear with different IDs (e.g., Afsender: 1 and 14)
• Context Matters: Same role ID may have different meanings in different contexts
• Historical Consistency: Role definitions maintained across decades

URL Encoding Requirements

 Critical: Always use %24 instead of $ in OData parameters:

# Correct
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?%24filter=rolleid%20eq%201&%24top=10"

# Incorrect  
curl "https://oda.ft.dk/api/DokumentAktør?$filter=rolleid eq 1&$top=10"

Example API Responses

Basic Document-Actor Relationship

{
  "odata.metadata": "https://oda.ft.dk/api/$metadata#DokumentAktør",
  "value": [
    {
      "id": 123456,
      "dokumentid": 12345,
      "aktørid": 6789,
      "rolleid": 1,
      "opdateringsdato": "2025-09-09T14:30:22.407"
    }
  ]
}

Expanded Relationship with Role and Actor

{
  "odata.metadata": "https://oda.ft.dk/api/$metadata#DokumentAktør",
  "value": [
    {
      "id": 123456,
      "dokumentid": 12345,
      "aktørid": 6789,
      "rolleid": 1,
      "opdateringsdato": "2025-09-09T14:30:22.407",
      "Aktør": {
        "id": 6789,
        "navn": "Nicolai Wammen",
        "typeid": 5
      },
      "DokumentAktørRolle": {
        "id": 1,
        "rolle": "Afsender",
        "rolletype": "Communication"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Related Documentation

• Aktør Entity Reference - Actor entities and types
• Dokument Entity Reference - Document entities and classifications
• DokumentAktørRolle Complete Reference - All 25 role types
• Junction Tables Overview - Complete junction table system
• Parliamentary Document Workflows - Process context

Conclusion

The DokumentAktør junction table represents one of the most sophisticated document-actor relationship systems in any parliamentary API. With its 25-role semantic system, it captures the complete spectrum of parliamentary communicationfrom formal legislative proposals to informal information sharing.

This rich relationship data enables comprehensive analysis of: - Document authorship and attribution - Parliamentary communication patterns
- Question-answer tracking and accountability - Ministry and committee workflow analysis - Cross-party collaboration patterns - Historical evolution of parliamentary communication

The role-based architecture ensures that every document-actor relationship is captured with precise semantic meaning, making the Danish Parliament API invaluable for researchers, journalists, and civic technologists studying democratic processes and government transparency.