A Metadata-Based Ecosystem to Improve the FAIRness of Research Software
Abstract
The reuse of research software is central to research efficiency and academic exchange. The application of software enables researchers with varied backgrounds to reproduce, validate, and expand upon study findings. Furthermore, the analysis of open source code aids in the comprehension, comparison, and integration of approaches. Often, however, no further use occurs because relevant software cannot be found or is incompatible with existing research processes. This results in repetitive software development, which impedes the advancement of individual researchers and entire research communities. In this article, the DataDesc ecosystem is presented, an approach to describing data models of software interfaces with detailed and machine-actionable metadata. In addition to a specialized metadata schema, an exchange format and support tools for easy collection and the automated publishing of software documentation are introduced. This approach practically increases the FAIRness, i.e., findability, accessibility, interoperability, and so the reusability of research software, as well as effectively promotes its impact on research.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2306.10620,
title = {A Metadata-Based Ecosystem to Improve the FAIRness of Research Software},
author = {Patrick Kuckertz and Jan Göpfert and Oliver Karras and David Neuroth and Julian Schönau and Rodrigo Pueblas and Stephan Ferenz and Felix Engel and Noah Pflugradt and Jann M. Weinand and Astrid Nieße and Sören Auer and Detlef Stolten},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2306.10620},
year = {2023}
}