Glossary

Administrator of an institutional space

Any person who manages an institutional space or collection on the Recherche Data Gouv platform and the associated rights. S/he is responsible for ensuring compliance with the administrators' charter within that space.

API (web)

Application Programming Interface
A structured interface enabling automatic interaction with a third-party information system which generally includes on-demand data retrieval.

Collection

A space dedicated to the datasets of a collective (institution, laboratory, research project, etc.) or a given theme.

Curation

Checking the metadata and data files deposited in the repository and, if necessary, suggesting modifications to improve the quality of the datasets in compliance with the curators' charter.

Curator

Any person who curates datasets by checking the metadata and data files deposited on the Recherche Data Gouv platform. A curator may suggest modifications to improve the documentation quality of the datasets in compliance with the curators' charter.

Data paper

A publication that describes a scientific dataset particularly through structured information called metadata. A data paper presents the context in which the data were produced but does not refer to the hypotheses that were tested or the analyses carried out, unlike a traditional research article.
Source: https://doranum.fr/data-paper-data-journal/data-papers-et-data-journals-fiche-synthetique_10_13143_2wcb-fw52/

Dataset

A coherent set of information or resources (data files, explanation files, API, links, etc.) and metadata (presentation, publication date, keywords, geographical/temporal coverage, etc.).

Dataverse

A free software used to develop the Recherche Data Gouv platform. Please see: https://dataverse.org/

Depositor

Any person registered in the repository and authorised to access it who publishes a dataset of public interest.

Digital fingerprint

A checksum consisting of numbers and letters that attests to a file's authenticity and technical reliability.

DOI

Digital Object Identifier
An identifier which provides permanent access to digital resources such as publications, data, journals, or reports thanks to a unique and stable link.
Source: https://doranum.fr/identifiants-perennes-pid/zoom-doi/

FAIR (principles)

The idea of FAIR data refers to the ways of constructing, storing, presenting or publishing data so as to make them findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.
Source : https://www.ouvrirlascience.fr/deuxieme-plan-national-pour-la-science-ouverte/

File preview

A feature enabling users to view a file directly in the interface without having to download it.

Functional administrator of the Recherche Data Gouv repository

Any person authorised to administer the Recherche Data Gouv repository. They create institutional spaces, guarantee compliance with international standards and principles for best data management practices on the Recherche Data Gouv repository, allocate rights to the administrators of institutional spaces and lead the network of institutional spaces' administrators and curators.

Generic space

A space in the Recherche Data Gouv repository where researchers who do not have a dedicated institutional space can deposit their datasets.

INRAE

National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment. Please see: https://www.inrae.fr/en

Institutional space

A space created on the Recherche Data Gouv platform in response to a request by a French research institution. The administration and curation of this space will be delegated to the requesting institution.

LDAP (protocol)

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
A protocol for querying directory information services.

MD5

The MD5 or Message Digest 5 algorithm is a hash function that provides a digital fingerprint of a file so that the integrity of a downloaded file can be checked.

Metadata

A set of structured information that describes, explains and locates an information resource to make it easier to be found, used and managed.
Source: https://doranum.fr/glossaire-donnees-recherche/

OAI-PMH

(Open Archive Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting)

A protocol for harvesting or automatically collecting metadata from the sites of data providers.

ORCID (identifier)

Open Researcher and Contributor ID
An alphanumeric identifier assigned to a researcher. Please see: https://orcid.org/

Persistent identifier

A persistent unique identifier (PID) is an alphanumeric string that  provides an unambiguous and lasting identification of a digital or  physical object (e.g., Crossref DOI for a publication, DataCite DOI for  data, SWHID for code or software, ORCID for a contributor, ROR for an  institution). Interoperable and machine-readable, these identifiers make  it easier to exchange information between different information  systems.

Source : Véronique Stoll, Frédéric De Lamotte. Recommendations for the Adoption of Persistent Identifiers in Higher Education and Research in France. Comité pour la Science Ouverte. 2025, 19 p. ⟨hal-05272820v1⟩. https://dx.doi.org/10.52949/84

Private URL

A temporary URL providing rights-free access to an unpublished dataset.

Recherche Data Gouv (repository)

A service integrated into the Recherche Data Gouv ecosystem which enables members of the French scientific community to deposit and publish their research data. Please see: https://entrepot.recherche.data.gouv.fr

Reuse

The use of published data by any natural or legal person for purposes other than those for which they were produced or received.

Reuse licence

Conditions for the reuse of data.

Trustworthy data repository

A data repository that responds to the trustworthiness criteria defined in the Criteria for the Selection of Trustworthy Repositories guide which aims to promote reliable and sustainable data repositories.

The Research Data College of the Committee for Open Science proposes a method for identifying trusted thematic repositories, as well as a list of trusted repositories.

UNF

UNF: a small string of alphanumeric characters of fixed length which summarises a data set's content. Any changes to the data results in a new universal digital signature no matter how minor the change. The UNF ensures that the file is not corrupted.

Visitors' log

A form for collecting information about a user who is viewing, exploring or downloading a file from a dataset