Posted December 1, 2025 by Dan Moser
The following is a guest column from Alian Kasabian, research data and security liaison with the Office of Research and Innovation. The “Year of Data” is a yearlong campaign to bring attention to campus resources and educational resources related to research data. The campaign kicked off in September and runs through April 2026, with monthly topics related to research data management and the research data life cycle.
The Year of Data theme for December is “We Have Principles.” Of course, principles are just rules or standards, and we have plenty of those, and at different levels: governmental, institutional, departmental, field of study, etc. This month, we are focusing on principles that have broad application for ethical data practices and stewardship. Specifically, Indigenous Data Sovereignty and CARE Principles, FAIR Principles and ALCOA+. We hope that the information and resources shared below help inform your data practices.
Indigenous Data Sovereignty + CARE Principles
Indigenous Data Sovereignty refers to right of Indigenous peoples’ rights to make decisions about the access, handling, storage, transport and use of data about them. This includes not only governing their own data but having access to data that informs their own governance. Historical patterns of colonialism have resulted in ongoing practices of decision-making “on the behalf of” Indigenous groups, failing to acknowledge their sovereignty, their historical knowledge, as well as their expertise and distinct traditional practices. Active participation in data prioritizes Tribal laws, increases capacity building and governance, and supports the distinct values of those involved and their interpretation of the data.
The CARE Principles were designed to be used in partnership with FAIR Principles to increase the shared benefit from data. CARE stands for Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility and Ethics:
- Collective benefit means that data ecosystems are designed so that Indigenous people can benefit from the data.
- Authority to control means Indigenous peoples determine how data about themselves, their knowledge, lands and resources are present and identified within the data.
- Responsibility means that researchers working with Indigenous peoples are responsible for sharing that data with the populations the data is about.
- Ethics means the well-being of Indigenous peoples should be the focus of all aspects of the data.
Together, these principles support Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination and capacity.
To learn more about Indigenous Data Sovereignty, check out the Study Guide on this topic. Additional resources are available on the Research Data website.
FAIR Principles
FAIR stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, and are principles for the sharing and preservation of scientific data. Data that is FAIR is easier to cite, discover and use with common tools and helps with data stewardship. The original article describing FAIR Principles provides examples of varying levels of implementation and responsiveness to special circumstances. The Australian Research Data Commons has a FAIR Data Self-Assessment Tool that can help researchers identify ways to increase FAIRness, as well as a self-paced training called FAIR Data 101 for those who want to develop skills and a better understanding of how to implement FAIR Principles.
ALCOA+
ALCOA+ are a set of principles for research data documentation, and stands for Attributable, Legible, Contemporaneous, Original and Accurate. The “+” refers to additional characteristics, such as completeness and availability, that were added later. ALCOA+ comes from the Food and Drug Administration and is commonly used in clinical trials, the pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing and other industries. ALCOA+ principles, when followed, are generally considered a sign of data integrity, where the accuracy and consistency of the data are preserved regardless of changes made. You can find examples of what each of these may look like in practice on researchdata.unl.edu.
December wraps up the first half of the Year of Data campaign. In 2026, we will be focusing on existing campus resources (January), collaboration (February), data sharing and sustainability (March), and new technologies will close out the campaign in April. Next month, join us for a Jan. 21 panel discussion featuring data providers, and the Research Data Life Cycle Micro-credential will also be live. Visit researchdata.unl.edu for more details.
