def METHOD_NAME(cls, def_type, definition, selector_dict={}):
    # this definition must be a list
    new_dict = {def_type: []}
    for sel_def in definition[def_type]:
        if isinstance(sel_def, dict):
            sel_def = cls.parse_from_definition(sel_def, selector_dict=selector_dict)
            new_dict[def_type].append(sel_def)
        elif isinstance(sel_def, str):
            sel_def = SelectionCriteria.dict_from_single_spec(sel_def)
            new_dict[def_type].append(sel_def)
        else:
            new_dict[def_type].append(sel_def)
    return new_dict