Let's talk data archiving: practical insights into FAIR and long-term data management from early-career perspectives
6 affiliations
- 1German National Committee of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS Germany), Germany
- 2Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski (ISMER), Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), Rimouski, QC G5L 2Z9, Canada
- 3Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
- 4Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
- 5National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, 93101, United States of America
- 6Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Abstract
Research data provide the basis for scientific discovery, yet their long-term value depends on careful curation and documentation. Data archiving is often treated as a final administrative task rather than an integral part of research. This report summarizes key insights from an interactive seminar organized by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) Germany, which explored practical approaches to making data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) from early-career perspectives. Speakers from PANGAEA, the Arctic Data Center, and the (AC)³ project highlighted the importance of high-quality metadata, persistent identifiers, editorial curation, secure long-term storage, and integration of data publication into everyday workflows. The discussion emphasized that incomplete documentation remains a major barrier to reuse and that planning data management from the start of a project greatly reduces later effort. The seminar demonstrated that data archiving is a shared responsibility and a strategic investment that strengthens reproducibility and scientific impact. Building on the seminar discussions, we recommend expanding practical FAIR training opportunities, promoting community metadata standards, recognizing data archiving within research funding and project planning, and strengthening a research culture in which high-quality data stewardship is valued as an integral component of scientific excellence.
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BibTeX
@article{steffens2026lets,
title = {{Let's talk data archiving: practical insights into FAIR and long-term data management from early-career perspectives}},
author = {J. K. Steffens and J. K. Steffens and L. Monrad-Krohn and L. Monrad-Krohn and A. Driemel and N. Greco and J. Röttenbacher},
journal = {Polarforschung},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5194/polf-94-61-2026},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-94-61-2026},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Let's talk data archiving: practical insights into FAIR and long-term data management from early-career perspectives
AU - J. K. Steffens
AU - J. K. Steffens
AU - L. Monrad-Krohn
AU - L. Monrad-Krohn
AU - A. Driemel
AU - N. Greco
AU - J. Röttenbacher
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Polarforschung
DO - 10.5194/polf-94-61-2026
UR - https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-94-61-2026
AB - Research data provide the basis for scientific discovery, yet their long-term value depends on careful curation and documentation. Data archiving is often treated as a final administrative task rather than an integral part of research. This report summarizes key insights from an interactive seminar organized by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) Germany, which explored practical approaches to making data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) from early-career perspectives. Speakers from PANGAEA, the Arctic Data Center, and the (AC)³ project highlighted the importance of high-quality metadata, persistent identifiers, editorial curation, secure long-term storage, and integration of data publication into everyday workflows. The discussion emphasized that incomplete documentation remains a major barrier to reuse and that planning data management from the start of a project greatly reduces later effort. The seminar demonstrated that data archiving is a shared responsibility and a strategic investment that strengthens reproducibility and scientific impact. Building on the seminar discussions, we recommend expanding practical FAIR training opportunities, promoting community metadata standards, recognizing data archiving within research funding and project planning, and strengthening a research culture in which high-quality data stewardship is valued as an integral component of scientific excellence.
SN - 0032-2490
SN - 2190-1090
ER -