FAIRsharing record for: FAIR Metric – I3 – Metadata – Qualified References to Related Research Objects

This FAIRsharing record describes: I3 requires that (meta)data include qualified references to other (meta)data. The purpose of this principle is to ensure that digital objects are connected to the wider research ecosystem through explicit, semantically defined relationships.

The FAIR Metric – I3 – Metadata – Qualified References to Related Research Objects (FM:I3:RRO) metric evaluates whether the metadata retrieved upon identifier resolution contains **at least one qualified, semantically defined link to another research object that provides contextual information but is not part of its direct supporting information**. Implementations of this metric should test for:
* a qualified relationship to a related research object, such as a publication or other research output, expressed using a defined relationship type(s) (e.g., “related to”), excluding relationships that indicate direct support (e.g., “supported by this record”); and
* that the relationship represents contextual linkage (providing relevant information on the context of the repository record) rather than representing direct supporting information required for understanding of the record.

A record will pass this metric if at least one such qualified, contextual reference (as specified by the tests that implement it) to another research object is present in the metadata.