The FAIR data point populator: collaborative FAIRification and population of FAIR data points

Background: Use of the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) allows the rapidly growing number of biomedical datasets to be optimally (re)used. An important aspect of the FAIR principles is metadata. The FAIR Data Point specifications and reference implementation have been designed as an example on how to publish metadata according to the FAIR principles. Metadata can be added to a FAIR Data Point with the FDP’s web interface or through its API. However, these methods are either limited in scalability or only usable by users with a background in programming. We aim to provide a new tool for populating FDPs with metadata that addresses these limitations with the FAIR Data Point Populator. Results: The FAIR Data Point Populator consists of a GitHub workflow together with Excel templates that have tooltips, validation and documentation. The Excel templates are targeted towards non-technical users, and can be used collaboratively in online spreadsheet software. A more technical user then uses the GitHub workflow to read multiple entries in the Excel sheets, and transform it into machine readable metadata. This metadata is then automatically uploaded to a connected FAIR Data Point. We applied the FAIR Data Point Populator on the metadata of two datasets, and a patient registry. We were then able to run a query on the FAIR Data Point Index, in order to retrieve one of the datasets. Conclusion: The FAIR Data Point Populator addresses the limitations of the other metadata publication methods by allowing the bulk creation of metadata entries while remaining accessible for users without a background in programming. Additionally, it allows efficient collaboration. As a result of this, the barrier of entry for FAIRification is lower, which allows the creation of FAIR data by more people.