Within the FAIRsFAIR project, DANS is working with its partners PANGAEA and DCC on an online self-assessment tool for users, to promote awareness about FAIR data and to educate users about FAIR data use before their data is deposited in databases.
The new tool, called FAIR-Aware, offers about 10 assessment questions that cover all aspects of the FAIR principles. Thanks to the corresponding tips for each question, the user easily understands the issues at hand and they learn how to make their data FAIR.
Recently, 49 external volunteers from the research community tested the beta version. The majority of respondents (60%) find the tool useful for learning more about the FAIR principles. This result underscores the value to the research community in making such support tools available.
The tool is under constant development and extensive feedback on both the criteria and the user interface has been successfully processed. In addition, the discipline-specific and data type examples, the level of data access and related legal obligations are also included in the new version.
The project team has made the source code of the tool available online. This source code can be modified to facilitate approval by other databases and also as part of FAIRsFAIR engagement and training activities.
Additional information
You can find more information on the background of the development of the FAIR-Aware tool on the project website. Please contact Linas Čepinskas (DANS) if you have any further questions. The report on FAIR certification elaborates on the development of the tool, which includes reviews and evaluations of data repositories and reviews of individual data sets.
