FAIR Geovisualizations: Definitions, Challenges, and the Road Ahead

TL;DR

This paper discusses the importance and challenges of making geovisualizations on the web FAIR—Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable—by exploring definitions, approaches, and open research questions from multiple perspectives.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for FAIR geovisualizations and highlights key open research questions to advance the field.

Findings

Proposes a comprehensive framework for FAIR geovisualizations

Identifies key challenges and open questions in making geovisualizations FAIR

Highlights the perspectives of computer, analyst, and developer in FAIR geovisualizations

Abstract

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.