Enhancing FAIR Compliance in Research Data Infrastructures: Insights from Applications of the RDA FAIR Data Maturity Model and the F-UJI Automated FAIR Data Assessment Tool
We share experiences assessing KonsortSWD using two approaches (manual and automated assessments). We used the FAIR Data Maturity Model (RDA-FDMM), which proposes 41 FAIR indicators organized into three classes (essential, important, useful) and five assessment levels. We applied RDA-FDMM to KonsortSWD's PID service, aiming to assign PIDs to data elements below the study level (such as survey variables). The indicators were manually assessed using the pass-or-fail method. We used the F-UJI Tool to automatically assess the GESIS Search as a relevant repository in the context of KonsortSWD. Tools like F-UJI offer valuable feedback on how to improve FAIR scores by automated means. Our experience highlights the importance of evaluating both machine-readable and non-machine-readable elements. As the research ecosystem evolves, providing easily machine-readable metadata becomes increasingly important. We recommend adopting a "FAIR by design" approach early in product or service development to ensure FAIR principles are embedded in project outcomes.KonsortSWD is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the framework of the NFDI – project number: 442494171
