Open Access Status
Declared access level: open, embargoed, or restricted
Justification
Declaring access status is fundamental to FAIR Accessibility. RDA-A1-01M (Important) requires "metadata contains information to enable the user to get access." schema.org includes isAccessibleForFree. DataCite Rights covers access designations.
Practical Guide
Declare access status. Universal requirement — every dataset needs this.
Declaring whether a dataset is open, embargoed, or restricted is the most fundamental accessibility signal. On Zenodo (open-access repository), 100% of datasets declare access status, so there's no comparison group. The discriminative power comes from mixed-access repositories where some datasets lack access declarations. This is weighted at 8 of 20 points in the Access bucket — the highest single-signal weight.
For Repositories
- Make access status a required field during deposit
- Support three levels: open, embargoed, restricted
- Map to DataCite #16 Rights and schema.org isAccessibleForFree
For Depositors
- Always declare your dataset's access level during deposit
- Choose the most open access level your data permits
- If restricted, explain the access procedure in the description
Universal FAIR requirement. 100% on Zenodo. Weighted highest in Access bucket (8 of 20 points).
Standards Sources
Convergence score: 3/4 independent sources —
| Standard | Field / Property | Obligation Level |
|---|---|---|
| DataCite 4.6 | #16 Rights (sub-property) | Optional |
| schema.org | isAccessibleForFree | Recommended |
| RDA FAIR | RDA-A1-01M | Important |
FAIR Principle Alignment
Primary mapping: Accessible (A1)
- A1: (Meta)data are retrievable by their identifier using a standardized protocol
RDA FAIR Data Maturity Model Indicators:
- RDA-A1-01M: Metadata contains information to enable the user to get access
How This Signal Is Measured
Presence of access_right field or isAccessibleForFree boolean. Binary: access status declared or not.
Empirical Evidence (Zenodo, n=1.3M)
Per-signal statistics use Zenodo as the primary validation source because it is the largest general-purpose repository with structured DataCite metadata, natural variance across all 25 signals, and available citation/usage data. Domain-specific repositories exhibit ceiling effects or restricted variance that preclude per-signal discrimination. Cross-repository validation is reported separately.
Prevalence
100%
of Zenodo datasets
Data Source
Zenodo (CERN)
1,328,100 records analyzed
Interpretation: Universal on Zenodo (open-access repository). Discriminative power comes from repositories with mixed access levels.
Quantitative Evidence
Scoring Formula
access_status_declared → 8 pts
Contribution: 8 of 100 points · Access bucket (0–20)
With Signal Present
1,328,100
datasets (100.0%)
μ = 0.244 citations/dataset
Without Signal
0
datasets (0.0%)
μ = 0 (baseline)
Method: N/A — universal prevalence · Source: Zenodo (n = 1,328,100)
Note: 100% prevalence on Zenodo (open-access repository). No comparison group available. Value-weighted: 8 of 20 points in Access bucket. Discriminative power comes from mixed-access repositories.
A — Access Bucket
All signals in this bucket: