Standards and practices: Developed in a participatory and collaborative approach and documented in the NFDI4Objects Commons
In the NFDI4Objects Commons, we collect work results from the consortium that have successfully passed the collaborative process for quality assurance (see Commons term). The aim of the Commons is to establish a collection of ‘living documents’ in which open standards for the handling of research data in the context of material cultural heritage are developed and recorded. The aim of these standards, and thus also of the NFDI4Objects Commons, is to improve the quality and interoperability of collected research data on the basis of the FAIR and CARE principles.
The interdisciplinary research fields of NFDI4Objects are currently strongly characterised by individual, project- or institution-specific solutions for handling research data. To ensure the exchange and long-term reuse of this data, there is a high need for harmonisation. Our community is therefore developing recommendations and guidelines that are to be used as standards in the sense of ‘best practice’. Their (further) development takes place in transparent processes in the Community Clusters (CC), the Temporary Working Groups (TWG) and the work programme of the Task Areas. Their results flow into the NFDI4Objects Commons and are put up for discussion in a public comment phase for quality assurance purposes.
The NFDI4Objects Commons are based on a broad understanding of standards, in which different levels of standardisation are reflected, from stimulative proposals to normative specifications [link to Path to standards]. The contributions in the NFDI4Objects Commons are not rigid specifications. Rather, they provide researchers with a selection of recommendations and aids that have been developed by the community and which they can integrate directly into their individual RDM practice.
Our commons in practice
The contributions in the NFDI4Objects commons are published under a CC-BY-4.0 licence. Access is via a catalogue that can be read by both humans and machines. This catalogue refers to persistent URLs in the repositories where the documents are permanently stored. For better recognisability, all Commons contributions are given a standardised layout. They are also published in the NFDI4Objects community on Zenodo. You can find out about new Commons contributions and ongoing comments via our newsletter.
The NFDI4Objects Commons are explicitly understood as living documents that are to be revised, adapted and updated at any time. You are also cordially invited to participate in the ongoing work and discussion processes in the CCs and TWGs of the consortium or to set up a corresponding group yourself!