FAIR data

Open science also means managing research data so that these are FAIR:

• Findable: persistently identified using the conventions of the reference scientific community, and sufficiently described using metadata,
• Accessible to humans and machines,
• Interoperable: structured in such a way that they can be combined with other sets of data,
• Reusable: licensed or with terms of use that explain how they can be reused in new searches.

FAIR data can be open or closed; in fact, "Accessible" is not synonymous with "Open", as there may be FAIR data closed for security reasons, or because related to a patent. However, apart from these exceptions, it is good to remember that all projects funded in Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe have the obligation to open the datasets that support the research results.

The data can be made open:

• depositing them in an open archive, eg. Zenodo, Dryad, Figshare. Re3data is a global registry of research data repositories that covers research data repositories from different academic disciplines;
• publishing them as datasets in a Data Journal: they are journals with a new format of publication that focuses on the dataset rather than the conventional research article;
• as supplementary material for articles published in scientific journals.

The main tool for correct data management is the Data Management Plan (DMP). Horizon Europe requests a DMP as a mandatory deliverable of funded projects by month 6 and provides a template that collects the main aspects of the research data life cycle.

USEFUL RESOURCES

• The Essentials4data course - free and online - is reach of ideas and tips for learning how to manage your data correctly from the start of a new search.
• The tool DMPonline alows to create, review, and share data management plans that meet institutional and funder requirements.
• The CESSDA Infrastructure Data Management Expert Guide is another tool, primarily intended for SSH researchers, useful for making their research data FAIR.
• The European project PARTHENOS provides a training module describing emerging trends and best practices in data management, quality assessment and intellectual property rights issues.