QPTDat

The joint project QPTDat – Quality assurance and networking of research data in plasma technology – funded by the BMBF aims to promote the sharing and interdisciplinary reuse of research data. The central components are an ontology and a blockchain component. Metadata schemes will be derived from the ontology, which meets the needs of different types of plasma technology but still makes it possible to link the research data from the various disciplines with one another. Blockchain technology enables research data to be certified. In this way, the authorship and integrity of data, such as metadata, can be checked. Two crucial aspects of QPTDat are the quality assurance of the research data submitted and a reputation model. Quality features can partly be mapped by the ontologies and checked in interaction with the blockchain technology. The reputation management is also anchored in the blockchain, which, for example, logs data access and its subsequent use.

QPTDat aims to promote the topic of open data and follow the FAIR criteria (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) when publishing data. Bloxberg, the first blockchain for science and research, serves as the basis for previous developments. A newly developed API will be used as an interface to connect the blockchain and conventional systems. The API will also be published at the end of the project. Potential users are being included in the development process to enhance acceptance. Furthermore, usability aspects of Web3 (blockchain) solutions are also considered.

In accordance with the FAIR criteria (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), detailed use cases have been analysed and described that use a blockchain solution to certify research data, initiate quality control, and enable reputation management.

Bloxberg, the first blockchain for science and research, serves as the basis for previous developments. Accordingly, a Bloxberg node has been put into operation on a server at the Digital Business Processes Research and Transfer Centre. With this, it is now possible to transfer the created use cases into software and test them. An initial version of the API has already been released and will be extended to include additional features.

In March 2021, the project team also won the Best Paper Award at the EAI DIONE 2021 conference for their work entitled 'Fostering Open Data Using Blockchain Technology'.