The FAIR Principle stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. It provides guidelines to improve the management of digital data and ensure it remains valuable for the long term.
FINDABLE: data should be easy to locate, both by humans and machines. This includes clear metadata and unique identifiers (DOI)
ACCESSIBLE: Once found, data should be available for retrieval. Doesn’t necessarily mean open-accessed but ensures clarity on how to get the data, possibly with authentication or authorization.
INTEROPERABLE: Data should work well with other data and tools. By using standardized formats and vocabulary, various systems can process the data.
REUSABLE: Data should be well-documented so others can use it for new research. This includes clarity on licensing and detailed metadata to explain its origin and any conditions for reuse.
A Digital Object Identifier, also known as a DOI, is a unique string of numbers and letters assigned to digital objects (like datasets) to provide a permanent link to their location on the internet. This ensures that if the dataset were to change enough to need a new DOI, the original DOI will remain consistent with the original correct source. This helps with data sharing by making datasets easily discoverable, citable, and accessible. It also promotes data preservation by ensuring long-term citation availability and stability in referencing.
