FAIR data principles

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For several years, the European Commission has worked to improve access to scientific outputs, including research data. To support this effort, it has developed the FAIR data guiding principles, which state that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The principles are detailed below, along with useful resources:

Findable: (Meta)data should be easily located by humans and machines. This means:

• F1. (Meta)data are assigned a globally unique and persistent identifier.

• F2. Data are described with rich metadata.

• F3. Metadata explicitly include the identifier of the data they describe.

• F4. (Meta)data are registered or indexed in a searchable resource.

Accessible: Data should be easy to retrieve (with authentication or authorization if necessary):

• A1. (Meta)data are retrievable by their identifier using a standardized communications protocol.

  • A1.1 The protocol is open, free, and universally implementable.

  • A1.2 The protocol supports authentication and authorization where necessary.

• A2. Metadata remain accessible even if the data are no longer available.

Interoperable: Data should be usable across different platforms and domains:

• I1. (Meta)data use a formal, accessible, shared, and broadly applicable language for knowledge representation.

• I2. (Meta)data use vocabularies that adhere to FAIR principles.

• I3. (Meta)data include qualified references to other (meta)data.

Reusable: Data should be well-documented to enable replication and re-use:

• R1. (Meta)data are richly described with accurate and relevant attributes.

  • R1.1 (Meta)data are released with a clear and accessible usage license.

  • R1.2 (Meta)data are associated with detailed provenance.

  • R1.3 (Meta)data meet domain-relevant community standards.

Useful Resources:

• Wilkinson et al. (2016), The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship, Scientific Data. DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2016.18

• European Commission, Turning FAIR into Reality Final Report: Turning FAIR into reality – Publications Office of the EU

• GoFAIR, FAIR principles: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/

• DORANum, Les principes FAIR: https://doranum.fr/enjeux-benefices/principes-fair_10_13143_z7s6-ed26/