Research Data Management and Sharing

FAIR data is:

• Findable: For data to be findable there must be sufficient metadata; there must be a unique and persistent identifier; and the data must be registered or indexed in a searchable resource.
• Accessible: To be accessible, metadata and data should be readable by humans and by machines, and it must reside in a trusted repository.
• Interoperable: Data must share a common structure, and metadata must use recognized, formal terminologies for description.
• Reusable: Data and collections must have clear usage licenses and clear provenance, and meet relevant community standards for the domain.

Source: National Library of Medicine

Selecting the best repository to house a dataset may be straightforward, if there is already a well-established subject based repository in your discipline, or it may take some research to determine the best place for your data. Look for a research data repository with open licenses, to make your datasets more accessible (CC0 is the least restrictive license). The repository should provide clear, persistent citations for datasets. Repositories offer a range of services to depositors (from data validation to peer review) and to users (from in-browser data exploration to visualization and analysis tools), which may also influence your choice.

Minimum Metadata Required to be included in a data repository

• Title: a succinct summary of both the data and study or focus (usually 8-10 words that adequately describe the content of the dataset)
• Author(s): Name, email, institutional affiliation of the main researcher
• Abstract: Brief summary of the structure and concepts of the dataset (should focus on the information relevant to the data itself)
• Research domain: primary research domains or drawn from OECD Fields of Science and Technology classification
• Journal Name (if associated with a manuscript)

Recommended Metadata

• Funding information: funder, grant number
• Keyword(s): minimum of 5 descriptive words to help with data discovery (more is better)
• Methods: special chemicals or specific antibodies/reagents necessary to replicate dataset
• Usage Notes: programs and/or software required to open the files
• Related Works: resources associated with the data (publications, related datasets, etc.)