Supporting FAIR Data Management Planning Across Different Disciplines at the University of Sheffield

Abstract

Recognition is growing sector-wide of the importance of FAIR data management planning in facilitating the sharing and reuse of research outputs. Indeed, research funders increasingly mandate practices such as data sharing or inclusion of a data availability statement in publications issuing from funded projects, practices which need to be anticipated at the data management planning stage. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of discipline-specific guidance to support researchers seeking to make data and software FAIR within a given domain and to a meaningful degree. This article outlines a project which explored ways to address this shortage. In Spring 2022, the University of Sheffield Library worked with researchers in seven disciplines to develop subject-specific FAIR checklists for the use of colleagues before, during and at the end of their research project. We chart the outcomes and implications of the project and the ways this will inform future support for researchers in planning for FAIR data at this institution.

Keywords

• fair principles
• data management planning
• open data
• fair data
• fair software