FAIR data and software principles
The FAIR guiding principles were created as a way to help researchers think about their research data and the potential of making these and other research outputs more available to, and reusable by, other researchers.
Defined in 2016, the FAIR principles are now considered a standard in opening up research data, and are increasingly becoming an expectation for research projects.
FAIR stands for:
- Findable
- Accessible
- Interoperable
- Reusable
FAIR guidance resource
A FAIR guidance resource has been created to help researchers apply the FAIR principles to their data and other research outputs.
The guidance is split into sections covering pre-, during, and after a research project, detailing actions that can be taken at each point to help make your outputs more FAIR.
It also contains extra information broken down by the type of research data that you are handling, such as sensitive data or code/software.
Additionally, the resource contains a primer on the benefits to making your research outputs FAIR, and examples from research colleagues reflecting on their experiences.
FAIR Faculty Seminars
The Library has previously run a series of faculty seminars to introduce the FAIR principles and give some practical advice on how to implement them, as well as examples of how this has been achieved by other researchers. These sessions also provided an overview of the university's FAIR guidance resource and outlined the new FAIR data stewardship service that is now available to provide bespoke help and support.
Recordings and slides from these are available in ORDA.
Further support
For further help and support regarding FAIR and research data management, please contact rdm@sheffield.ac.uk