The findability of a resource is ensured by giving it a unique and persistent identifier (like DOI) and comprehensive metadata including the identifier. Data should also be described and registered in a searchable resource.
To ensure accessibility, data should be as open as possible and universally implementable using free software. Metadata should be open for access, even after the data are no longer available.
The language used in data and metadata should be formal, accessible, shared and broadly applicable, following the FAIR principles including qualified references to other data. To ensure interoperability it is also important that data and metadata are both human and machine readable.
The reusability of data is optimized by providing rich metadata using accurate and relevant attributes, including the data usage license and its terms. The origin and life cycle associated with the data should be accessible.
References:
Wilkinson, M. D., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, Ij. J., Appleton, G., Axton, M., Baak, A., Blomberg, N., Boiten, J.-W., da Silva Santos, L. B., Bourne, P. E., Bouwman, J., Brookes, A. J., Clark, T., Crosas, M., Dillo, I., Dumon, O., Edmunds, S., Evelo, C. T., Finkers, R., Gonzalez-Beltran, A., Gray, A. J. G., Groth, P., Goble, C., Grethe, J. S., Heringa, J., ’t Hoen, P. A. C., Hooft, R., Kuhn, T., Kok, R., Kok, J., Lusher, S. J., Martone, M. E., Mons, A., Packer, A. L., Persson, B., Rocca-Serra, P., Roos, M., van Schaik, R., Sansone, S.-A., Schultes, E., Sengstag, T., Slater, T., Strawn, G., Swertz, M. A., Thompson, M., van der Lei, J., van Mulligen, E., Velterop, J., Waagmeester, A., Wittenburg, P., Wolstencroft, K., Zhao, J., and Mons, B. 2016. The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific Data, 3, 160018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18