DataverseNO: A National, Generic Repository and its Contribution to the Increased FAIRness of Data from the Long Tail of Research

Abstract

Research data repositories play a crucial role in the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) ecosystem of digital objects. DataverseNO is a national, generic repository for open research data, primarily from researchers affiliated with Norwegian research organizations. The repository runs on the open-source software Dataverse. This article presents the organization and operation of DataverseNO, and investigates how the repository contributes to the increased FAIRness of small and medium sized research data. Sections 1 to 3 present background information about the FAIR Data Principles (section 1), how FAIR may be turned into reality (section 2), and what these principles and recommendations imply for data from the so-called long tail of research, i.e. small and medium-sized datasets that are often heterogenous in nature and hard to standardize (section 3). Section 4 gives an overview of the key organizational features of DataverseNO, followed by an evaluation of how well DataverseNO and the repository application Dataverse as such support the FAIR Data Principles (section 5). Section 6 discusses how sustainable and trustworthy the repository is. The article is rounded up in section 7 by a brief summary including a look into the future of the repository.