Jenni Adams, University of Sheffield, Ric Campbell, University of Sheffield Academic researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to make data and software FAIR in order to support the sharing and reuse of non-publication outputs. Currently there is still a lack of concise and practical guidance on how to achieve this in the context of specific data types and disciplines. This presentation details recent and ongoing work at the University of Sheffield to bridge this gap. It will explore the development of a FAIR resource with specialist guidance for a range of data types and will examine the planned development of this project during the period 2023-25

1. Practical steps towards an open
research culture:
Building support around FAIR data &
software at the University of Sheffield
Jenni Adams & Ric Campbell (University of Sheffield)

2. Charting an evolving service:
● The FAIR principles (JA)
● Discipline-specific FAIR
checklists (JA)
● A FAIR guidance resource
(RC)
● FAIR data stewardship
service(RC)
Contents

3. 3
3
What is FAIR?
- Findable
- Accessible
- Interoperable
- Reusable
The Turing Way Community. This illustration was created by Scriberia with The Turing Way
community, used under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3332807
A set of principles created with
the intention of making research
data and outputs more available
to, and reusable by, other
researchers.

4. 4
Embedding FAIR principles and good practice
The Turing Way Community. This illustration is created by Scriberia with The
Turing Way community, used under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.3332807
● Lots of information available on
the principles
● Less information on actionable
elements or discipline-specific
guidance
● Our aim =
○ Create guidance of practical
benefit to researchers in
specific subject areas

5. Departmental Checklists
5
● Architecture
● Biosciences
● English
● Geography
● Mechanical Engineering
● Psychology
● School of Health &
Related Research
Zuzanna Zagrodzka, ‘FAIR data and software checklist for the School of Biosciences; Ecology &
Evolutionary Biology and Plants, Photosynthesis & Soil clusters’, in Adams, Jenni et al (2022), Departmental
FAIR checklists. The University of Sheffield. Workflow. https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.20496855.v3

6. 6
FAIR
guidance
resource
(bit.ly/fairGuidance)

7. All stages of research project
7

8. Advice by data type
8

9. 9
9
FAIR Stewardship Service
Our initial thoughts:
● Working with or within a research project, department, networks, research
group
● Work involving or outputs of:
○ Protocol/SOP development (data sharing, creation, management, etc.)
○ Tailored FAIR resource
○ Bespoke training
○ Preparing data to share (structuring data deposit, enhancing metadata,
anonymization strategies)

10. Successes:
- Interesting projects
- All faculties, variety of data types
- Creating better practices and understanding
Challenges
- Previous risk averse setup (ethics)
- Every project is very different
Next steps
- Continue pilot projects
- Rethink the model
Jenni Adams & Ric Campbell; rdm@sheffield.ac.uk