## FAIR data 

The Open Data Editor (ODE) improves data quality based on the [FAIR principles](https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/).

As described by the [GO FAIR initiative](https://www.go-fair.org/), FAIR data refers to data that adheres to the **Findable**, **Accessible**, **Interoperable**, and **Reusable** principles, designed to make research data more discoverable and usable by people and machines, enhancing its value and reuse.

**Findable**  
The first step in (re)using data is to find it. Metadata and data should be easy to find for both humans and computers.

**Accessible**  
Once the user finds the required data, they need to know how it can be accessed, possibly including authentication and authorisation.

**Interoperable**  
The data usually need to be integrated with other data. In addition, the data needs to interoperate with applications or workflows for analysis, storage, and processing.

**Reusable**  
The ultimate goal of FAIR is to optimise the reuse of data. To achieve this, metadata and data should be well-described so that they can be replicated and/or combined in different settings.

Learn all about the FAIR principles in [Module 4](https://schoolofdata.org/courses/quality-and-consistent-data-with-open-data-editor/lessons/introduction-6/) of the ‘Quality and Consistent Data with ODE’ course, available on [School of Data](https://schoolofdata.org/).