# An ontology-based description of nano computed tomography measurements in electronic laboratory notebooks

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a system using semantic web technologies to ensure metadata from nano-computed tomography research is FAIR-compliant and easily accessible.

## Contribution

A new approach for creating FAIR metadata by integrating semantic annotation from the start of the research process using an electronic lab notebook.

## Key findings

- The Herbie platform enables automatic validation and semantic annotation of metadata during nano-computed tomography experiments.
- The system successfully captures complex instrument metadata and configurations in a user-friendly interface.
- SPARQL queries demonstrate effective data extraction from the generated knowledge graph.

## Abstract

Scientific communities have recognized the importance of well-documented metadata generated during research. However, ensuring that metadata is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) remains a significant challenge. To address this, scientific communities are working towards making metadata available in semantically annotated knowledge graphs using semantic web technologies. In our proposed solution, the creation of a schema is initiated at the very beginning of the scientific process. This is transformed into a data collection platform using the electronic laboratory notebook framework, Herbie, which facilitates the automatic validation and semantic annotation of metadata. Using the example of synchrotron-radiation-based nano-computed-tomography measurements at a beamline, we demonstrate this approach. It effectively captures the complex metadata of such research instruments along with their various configurations, providing a user-friendly experience. We illustrate how Herbie converts all semantic documents into a user interface, ensuring that the entered data automatically meets all FAIR requirements. Additionally, we show how data can be extracted from the knowledge graph using SPARQL queries.