FAIRness in Research Software

FAIRness in Research Software Naeem Muhammad Research Data Manager @ Research Coordination Office, KU Leuven, Belgium Research Coordination Office - DOC2 •What is Research Software •FAIR Principles for Research Software •Source Code Version Control •Software Licenses •Example FAIR assessment Agenda Research Coordination Office - DOC3 •Research data •Documents, lab notebooks, databases, lab specimens •Also, source code of your software/tools/scripts •Python, R, Matlab, Java, C/C++ •FAIR principles apply to all kind of research data •Demands FAIRness in research software •FAIR software initiatives •From open science, open source and FAIR communities Background Research Coordination Office - DOC4 • “A computer-based application that converts inputs into outputs to support the user in one or more research tasks.” •Tools developed by researchers •Simulation scripts •Analysis scripts •Data processing scripts What is Research Software https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/knowledge-visualization-for-research-design/219931 https://vsoch.github.io/2020/what-is-research-software/ Research Coordination Office - DOC5 What is Research Software Research Coordination Office - DOC6 FAIR Principles F Metadata Persistent Identifiers Repository A Who How I Common Standards Open Data Formats R Documentation Data Licenses Research Coordination Office - DOC7 Software and its associated metadata is findable Software and its metadata is retrievable via standardized protocols Software interoperates with other software Software is both usable and reusable FAIR Principles for Research Software by FAIR4RS F A I R https://www.rd-alliance.org/group/fair-research-software-fair4rs-wg/outcomes/fair-principles-research-software-fair4rs Research Coordination Office - DOC8 •Persistent identifiers for •Software •Software components •Different versions •Metadata for software •Searchable •Use trusted repositories •Examples •bio.tools (catalogue of bioinformatics tools) •Zenodo (general purpose repository) FAIR FINDABLE Has good integration with GitHub Harvests/Fetches version specific code Generates DOI Makes code citable Research Coordination Office - DOC9 •Software retrievable/downloadable •Using standardized protocols •via web e.g. •Open, free •Authorization information •Provide metadata if software cannot be shared FAIR ACCESSIBLE Research Coordination Office - DOC16 Software Licenses Public Domain •Most permissive •No restriction LGPL (Lesser General Public License ) •Link open source libraries to your code •Redistribute resulting code under any license Permissive •Constraints on: Use Modification Redistribution Copy Left •Restrictive •Redistribution under same license Proprietary •Most restrictive •No modifications •No redistribution •Illegal to copy, modify and redistribute Restrictiveness Research Coordination Office - DOC17 •License selection tools •https://choosealicense.com/ •https://ufal.github.io/public-license-selector/ Software Licenses Research Coordination Office - DOC18 Five Recommendations for Fair Software https://fair-software.nl/ Use a version control repository Register your code in a community registry Enable software citation Use a software quality checklist Add a license Research Coordination Office - DOC19 •https://fairsoftwarechecklist.net/v0.2/ Self-assessment for FAIR research software https://fairsoftwarechecklist.net/v0.2/ Research Coordination Office - DOC20 •https://github.com/force11/FAIR4RS •https://fair-software.nl/ •https://github.com/eurise-network/technicalreference/blob/v0.1/quality/software-checklist.rst •https://everse.software/RSQKit/licensing_software •https://everse.software/RSQKit/software_metadata •https://github.com/NLeSC/awesome-research-software-registries •https://github.com/FAIR-IMPACT/RSMD-guidelines FAIR Software Resources Research Coordination Office - DOC21 •Your script/tool/source code is research data •Use version control tool/repository to track source code changes •Make your software citable by using persistent identifiers •Provide documentation to use/extend your software •Use a quality checklist to assess the quality of your software •Use suitable license Take-Home Message Thank you Questions? LinkedIn KU Leuven