Content from Intro to SciX and FAIR principles

Last updated on 2025-03-19 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

  • What is FAIR?
  • What is the social benefit of Open Science?

Objectives

  • Define the FAIR principles and explain what each component (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) means in the context of scientific data.
  • Explain how SciX makes data Findable by assigning unique, persistent identifiers and indexing rich metadata.
  • Describe how SciX supports Accessibility through standardized retrieval protocols and the use of an API.
  • Illustrate how SciX promotes Interoperability by incorporating standard vocabularies and qualified references within its metadata.
  • Discuss how SciX enhances Reusability by ensuring metadata includes clear licensing, detailed provenance, and adherence to community standards.

Lesson Content

Data supporting scientific research can be difficult to find in many fields. Papers often describe data collection and methods, but rarely include the actual data alongside the manuscript. As articles move online, publishers are still not typically equipped to store and distribute datasets.

In response, standards were needed to guide data infrastructure. This led to the development of the FAIR Principles for Scientific Data–first described in a 2016 Nature article. FAIR stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Each term has been expanded into guiding principles for developing resource platforms like SciX.

Findable Principles

The focus is on making data easy to locate by both humans and computers. This is achieved by creating machine-readable metadata that is essential for automated discovery:

  • F1: Data and metadata are assigned a globally unique and persistent identifier.
  • F2: Data are described with rich metadata (as defined further in R1).
  • F3: Metadata clearly and explicitly include the identifier of the data they describe.
  • F4: Data and metadata are registered or indexed in a searchable resource.

Accessible Principles

These principles help users understand how to retrieve data:

  • A1: Data and metadata are retrievable by their identifier using a standardised communications protocol.
    • A1.1: The protocol is open, free, and universally implementable.
    • A1.2: The protocol supports authentication and authorisation, where necessary.
  • A2: Metadata remain accessible even when the data are no longer available.

Interoperable Principles

Data often needs to be integrated with other data, used in workflows, or transformed for processing:

  • I1: Data and metadata use a formal, accessible, shared, and broadly applicable language for knowledge representation.
  • I2: Data and metadata use vocabularies that follow FAIR principles.
  • I3: Data and metadata include qualified references to other data and metadata.

Reusable Principles

The goal is to ensure data can be reused in various contexts:

  • R1: Data and metadata are richly described with a variety of accurate and relevant attributes.
    • R1.1: Data and metadata are released with a clear and accessible data usage license.
    • R1.2: Data and metadata are associated with detailed provenance.
    • R1.3: Data and metadata meet domain-relevant community standards.

Although SciX exemplifies all four FAIR principles, its primary focus is on being a discovery platform–making data Findable. Each article in SciX is assigned a unique, persistent identifier that not only retrieves the article but also connects related papers via citations. Every reference is described with detailed metadata (including title, authors, abstract, publication, and keywords) that is fully indexed and searchable. When data is included, it is also assigned an identifier.

SciX further supports Accessibility by providing an API for standardized, programmatic retrieval of records. When an article cites supporting references, the citation information is included as part of the metadata, supporting Interoperability. Finally, by following established publication standards and associating metadata with its provenance, SciX ensures that data is Reusable in various contexts.

Benefits of FAIR Science

What do you think are the social benefits of making scientific data FAIR?

Benefits of Open Science to your community/institution

Encourage a discussion on how open science can benefit your community or institution.

Reflection

For the final 5 minutes, display prompts on the screen:

  • How does SciX make research data more discoverable?
  • In what ways does open access to metadata support open science?

Please share your thoughts with the class.

Key Points

  • The FAIR principles provide a framework for making scientific data more discoverable and usable.
  • SciX makes data Findable by assigning unique, persistent identifiers and indexing rich metadata.
  • SciX ensures Accessibility through standardized retrieval protocols and a robust API.
  • By using standard vocabularies and qualified references, SciX promotes Interoperability.
  • Detailed metadata with clear licensing and provenance supports Reusability of research data.

Content from Basic Searches in SciX

Last updated on 2025-03-19 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

  • How do you perform an author search in SciX?
  • How can you disable synonym expansion during a keyword search?
  • What facets can you use to refine your search results?

Objectives

  • Execute a basic author search
  • Execute a basic keyword search
  • Refine a search using facets
  • Identify useful metadata and resources through the abstract view
  • Follow links from the abstract page to access resources such as the open access version of the article, related software, and associated datasets
  • Apply consistent naming conventions to project documents

Basic Searches in SciX

Once you’ve logged into SciX, you’re ready to explore its search capabilities. In this episode, we’ll cover both author and keyword searches, then show you how to refine your results.

Setting Up Your Environment

When you open SciX, ensure you can see the homepage.

Screenshot of the SciX homepage

Selecting Your Discipline

On your first visit, select your preferred discipline from the dropdown menu in the upper left.

Note: This step customizes your search tools but does not limit your overall search.

Screenshot of discipline selection on SciX (e.g., Planetary Science)

Quick Help & Navigation

SciX offers a help carousel on the main search page. Click the left/right arrows to view introductory resources, including a quick start guide and search examples. For more detailed assistance, click the “Help” button in the upper right.

Screenshot of SciX help carousel and Help button
Screenshot of author search with 'shoemaker' entered

Search by Author

Try searching for Gene Shoemaker on your own. How many results do you get? Discuss with your neighbor.

Screenshot comparing keyword search with synonym expansion vs. exact search

Keyword Search

Experiment with a keyword search both with and without the equal sign. What differences do you observe?

Viewing and Refining Search Results

Exploring the Results View

The results view shows:

  • Article title, author list, publication date, and journal name
  • Citation count and icons indicating available links (full text, references, citations, datasets)
Screenshot of SciX results view with bibliometric details and icons

Explore the Interface

Take a moment to identify the various icons. Which icon shows you the availability of open access versions?

Use the facets on the left side to narrow down your results:

  • Author Variants: Use filters to focus on the correct variant (e.g., “Shoemaker, Eugene M”).
  • Institutional Affiliation: Limit results by specific institutions if desired.
  • Date Range: Adjust the date slider to restrict the publication dates.
Screenshot of facet filters, showing author variants and date slider

Exploring the Abstract View

Click an article title to open the abstract view. Here, you can find:

  • Detailed bibliographic information (title, authors, publication details)
  • Links to additional resources like open access articles, software, and datasets
Screenshot of the abstract view in SciX showing additional resource links

Challenge

Select an article and review its abstract view. What extra details can you find that weren’t in the results view?

Reflection and Discussion

Take a few minutes to perform a search on a topic relevant to your work using both author and keyword searches. Then, discuss with a partner:

  • What did you search for?
  • Did you find relevant materials?
  • What aspects of the process were straightforward or challenging?

Bonus Challenge

Try exporting a citation from one of your articles. Explore the export options and compare different formats.

Key Points

  • SciX enables effective author and keyword searches with powerful synonym expansion.
  • Facet filters help narrow down results by author variants, institutional affiliation, and publication date.
  • The abstract view provides in-depth details and links to additional resources.