FAIR data, data management

Open/FAIR data

Publishing and sharing data under an open access model, which allows immediate, free, permanent, and unrestricted access to scientific outputs, is increasingly supported globally by both scientific institutions and funding providers. Making data accessible in accordance with the FAIR principles does not imply unrestricted access to data without any limitations. The goal is to follow the principle:

“...as open as possible, as closed as necessary.”

Research data, in line with this principle, should be published to the extent that maximally facilitates their reuse. On the other hand, data disclosure may be restricted, but only to the extent necessary to protect the rights and interests of the recipient, provider, or third parties. These protected rights and interests typically include the right to personal data protection, state security, or the interest in monetizing and utilizing research by the institution that conducted it.

research data

According to Zákona 130/2002 o podpoře výzkumu, experimentálního vývoje a inovací (§2 Definitions, Paragraph 2, Letter o), research data are defined as:
"Information in electronic form that is collected or created during research, used as evidence, or generally accepted by the research community as necessary to validate findings and results."

The European Open Data Directive defines data as follows: "Research data includes statistics, results of experiments, measurements, observations resulting from fieldwork, survey results, interview recordings and images. It also includes meta-data, specifications and other digital objects. Research data is different from scientific articles reporting and commenting on findings resulting from their scientific research. For many years, the open availability and re-usability of scientific research data stemming from public funding has been subject to specific policy initiatives."

FAIR principles

Research data should adhere to FAIR principles. These principles describe how data should be processed to ensure they are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Data should use standard formats, be accompanied by metadata, and include persistent identifiers (DOI, handle).

It is not contrary to the FAIR principles if access to data is conditional upon meeting certain requirements (e.g., signing a contract or adhering to contractual restrictions), provided these restrictions are necessary, transparently explained (e.g., in a DMP), and justified.

Although scientific articles themselves are not considered research data, they should also comply with FAIR principles, particularly in terms of findability and accessibility. It is strongly recommended to implement FAIR principles from the beginning of the research process.

A detailed description of the FAIR principles can be found in English on the Go FAIR website.