FAIR geovisualizations: definitions, challenges, and the road ahead

The availability of open data and of tools to create visualizations on top of these open datasets have led to an ever-growing amount of geovisualizations on the Web. There is thus an increasing need for techniques to make geovisualizations FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. This article explores what it would mean for a geovisualization to be FAIR, presents relevant approaches to FAIR geovisualizations and lists open research questions on the road towards FAIR geovisualizations. The discussion is done using three complementary perspectives: the computer, which stores geovisualizations digitally; the analyst, who uses them for sensemaking; and the developer, who creates them. The framework for FAIR geovisualizations proposed, and the open questions identified are relevant to researchers working on findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable online visualizations of geographic information.

Automated summary

This article explores the importance of making geovisualizations FAIR and presents relevant approaches and research questions, discussing from the perspectives of computer, analyst, and developer. The proposed framework for FAIR geovisualizations and identified open questions are relevant for researchers working on online visualizations of geographic information that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.