Mavroeidi, M.; Rattenbury, M.S. 2022 FAIR Principles applied to high-value geoscience datasets. Lower Hutt, N.Z.: GNS Science. GNS Science report 2021/62. 39 p.; doi: 10.21420/88HQ-9792
Abstract
The FAIR Principles outline how digital data can be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. GNS Science has committed to achieving compliance with FAIR Principles for its high-value geoscience datasets. Initial assessment and improvement of FAIR compliance of GNS Science’s eight Nationally Significant Collections and Databases (NSCDs) as well as high-value natural hazards datasets has been undertaken. The Findable principle is largely met by GNS Science’s Dataset Catalogue that links metadata to datasets. The metadata registered in the catalogue are harvested by other catalogues, registries and search engines. Findability has been further improved with the assigning and documentation of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs). The Accessible principle requires data can be retrieved with commonly-used open and free protocols (https, sftp) employed by GNS Science. The Interoperable principle requires data to be open standard formats rather than proprietary formats. Where resources allow, GNS Science uses machine-readable formats, international geoscience data models and community accepted vocabularies. The Reusable principle requires data are richly described with metadata, particularly around data provenance/lineage and the terms of data reuse/licensing. GNS Science uses the ISO19115 metadata standard for geographic information and requires metadata around provenance and licensing to be captured. Available FAIR assessment tools have been adapted and used to evaluate FAIR compliance of high-value geoscience datasets. In terms of average scores, the eight NSCDs are 92% Findable, 83% Accessible, 64% Interoperable and 70% Reusable, whereas the four Natural Hazard Data Resources are 77% Findable, 59% Accessible, 32% Interoperable and 48% Reusable. The differences between the dataset groups reflect a disparity in levels of funding support. There is potential for further improvement in FAIR compliance for all datasets. A roadmap for improving FAIR Principles compliance of our natural hazard datasets is presented and one common element is ensuring dataset managers are aware of the FAIR Principles. The roadmap is applicable to all of GNS Science’s high-value geoscience datasets. Some of the actions can be undertaken at an individual dataset level and other require institutional initiatives and/or policy decisions. (auth)
