Source: Own illustration; Freepik.
On October 12, 2022, the data stewards, RDM officers and RDM interested parties at RWTH Aachen University met again for the regular Open Meeting of the RDM Network online via Zoom. The theme of the event this time was FAIR in Science.
FAIR in Science – Knowledge Test
Mario Moser from the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University led the participants through the topic of the network meeting. The cooperation of the participants was also in demand. Instead of a simple lecture during which the audience could sit back and relax, the knowledge of those present was tested at the beginning with a quiz on the subject of FAIR principles.
The participants had to decide which of the statements about the FAIR principles were true and which were not. Using the emoji reactions in Zoom, they could share their answers. Here are a few sample statements:
FAIR principles do not refer exclusively to collected data or to re-used data such as measured values or simulation data.
FAIR Principles are designed as a standard to be followed at all costs.
The FAIR Principles may change and be adapted in the future.
FAIR data is also always open data.
So, do you know what is true and what is not? Those who want to test and check their own knowledge have the opportunity to do so on Zenodo. The quiz is publicly accessible there (only in German).
The 15 guiding principles
After the quiz, Moser presented the 15 guiding principles of FAIR. With the help of these guidelines, the FAIR design of data is concretised.
Findable:
F1. (meta)data are assigned a globally unique and persistent identifier
F2. data are described with rich metadata
F3. metadata clearly and explicitly include the identifier of the data it describes
F4. (meta)data are registered or indexed in a searchable resource
Accessible:
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 allows for an authentication and authorization procedure, where necessary
A2. metadata are accessible, even when the data are
Interoperable:
I1. (meta)data use a formal, accessible, shared, and broadly applicable language for knowledge representation
I2. (meta)data use vocabularies that follow FAIR principles
I3. (meta)data include qualified references to other (meta)data
Reusable:
R1. meta(data) are richly described with a plurality of accurate and relevant attributes
R1.1. (meta)data are released with a clear and accessible data usage license
R1.2. (meta)data are associated with detailed provenance
R1.3. (meta)data meet domain-relevant community standards
The FAIR principles in practice
Following this, the participants were again asked to actively participate. They were asked to collect answers to the following questions on a pre-prepared Miro board and thus get to know the work and the application of the FAIR principles in other areas:
- In which disciplines and with which “(scholar) digital objects” do you work?
- To what extent do you already apply elements from FAIR in your research? Do you consider them to be interdisciplinary/independent or discipline-specific?
- To which domain or discipline should FAIR be applied? (Five answer options were available: 1. independent of discipline, 2. subject-specific per discipline (e.g. engineering sciences, natural sciences), 3. method-specific (e.g. simulation, experimental, …), 4. division along DFG classification, 5. even more individual).
The results of how FAIR is worked in the scientific disciplines can be viewed online.
The next open meeting of the RDM network – Save the Date
Date: November 9, 2022
Time: 10am to 12 noon
Location: Zoom – Registration
Topic: tbd
Learn more
If you also want to become a part of the RDM network at RWTH, then subscribe to the mailing list “DataStewards@RWTH”.
If you have any questions about the RDM network or RDM in general, just write a message to the IT-ServiceDesk. The RDM Team looks forward to hearing from you.
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Responsible for the content of this article is Sophia Nosthoff.
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