> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://fairsharing.gitbook.io/fairsharing/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://fairsharing.gitbook.io/fairsharing/fair-assistance/trust-evaluation.md).

# TRUST evaluation

The [TRUST Principles](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0486-7) provide a framework for supporting the trustworthiness of digital repositories through five areas: **Transparency, Responsibility, User focus, Sustainability and Technology**.

FAIRsharing stores structured metadata describing many repository characteristics relevant to the TRUST Principles. The [**TRUST benchmark for digital repositories**](https://fairsharing.org/9303) brings together metrics that use these metadata to describe characteristics of databases that contribute to repository TRUSTworthiness.

Like the [FAIR-enabling database benchmarks](/fairsharing/fair-assistance/database-level-fairness.md), this benchmark focuses primarily on characteristics of the database itself and the capabilities it provides, rather than evaluating the FAIRness or trustworthiness of individual datasets or records contained within it.

The current TRUST benchmark reuses metrics developed for the FAIR-enabling database benchmarks where the repository characteristic represented by a metric also provides evidence relevant to one or more TRUST Principles. This allows the same curated FAIRsharing metadata to support complementary views of repository FAIR enablement and TRUSTworthiness. It does not imply that FAIR and TRUST, or their individual principles, are equivalent frameworks.

## TRUSTworthy characteristics evaluated

| TRUST Principle                  | Which section of the TRUST principle is being evaluated     | FAIRsharing operationalisation                                                                                       | Metric                                                                                                                             |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Transparency**                 | Database clearly describes its mission and scope            | Presence of core descriptive metadata: name, description, country, at least one subject and at least one object type | [FAIR Metric - F2 - Metadata - Registry metadata fields for resource discovery](https://fairsharing.org/8368)                      |
| **Transparency; Sustainability** | Database declares a preservation policy                     | Presence of a non-empty Preservation Policy URL                                                                      | [FAIR Metric - A2 - Metadata - Database declares preservation policy](https://fairsharing.org/8383)                                |
| **Transparency**                 | Database declares terms governing use of its content        | Presence of at least one licence associated with the database                                                        | [FAIR Metric - R1.1 - Metadata - Resource declares a usage licence](https://fairsharing.org/8801)                                  |
| **Responsibility**               | Database provides machine-accessible search or browsing     | Presence of a Search or Browse Data Process using a machine interface and supporting Read or Read/Write operations   | [FAIR Metric - F4 - Metadata - Resource provides machine search interface](https://fairsharing.org/8378)                           |
| **Responsibility**               | Database allows content to be downloaded computationally    | Presence of an appropriate Download Data Process supporting computational access                                     | [FAIR Metric - I3 - Metadata - Resource allows content download by machines](https://fairsharing.org/8413)                         |
| **Responsibility**               | Database adopts community-relevant terminologies or formats | Relationships to terminology or model/format records appropriate to the database's subject area                      | [FAIR Metric - R1.3 - Metadata - Resource adopts community-relevant terminologies or models/formats](https://fairsharing.org/8855) |
| **Responsibility**               | Database provides user-facing documentation                 | Presence of at least one Help Documentation support link                                                             | [FAIR Metric - R1.3 - Metadata - Resource provides support through user-facing help documentation](https://fairsharing.org/8860)   |
| **User focus**                   | Database contributes to community discovery infrastructure  | Presence of a valid FAIRsharing database record                                                                      | [FAIR Metric - F4 - Metadata - Resource has a FAIRsharing record](https://fairsharing.org/8375)                                    |
| **User focus**                   | Database provides community support channels                | Presence of at least one mailing list, support email or contact form                                                 | [FAIR Metric - R1.3 - Metadata - Resource provides community support channels](https://fairsharing.org/8861)                       |
| **User focus**                   | Database supports community interaction                     | Presence of at least one community interaction mechanism, such as a forum or social-media channel                    | [FAIR Metric - R1.3 - Metadata - Resource supports community interaction](https://fairsharing.org/8862)                            |
| **Sustainability**               | Database declares a sustainability plan                     | Presence of a non-empty Resource Sustainability URL                                                                  | [FAIR Metric - A2 - Metadata - Database declares sustainability plan](https://fairsharing.org/8387)                                |
| **Sustainability**               | Database identifies its funding organisations               | Presence of funding organisations with ROR identifiers                                                               | [FAIR Metric - R1.2 - Metadata - Resource declares funding organisations](https://fairsharing.org/8840)                            |
| **Sustainability**               | Database identifies grants supporting it                    | Presence of grants linked to funding organisations                                                                   | [FAIR Metric - R1.2 - Metadata - Resource declares grants linked to funding organisations](https://fairsharing.org/8841)           |
| **Technology**                   | Database adopts community or general standards              | Presence of relationships to models/formats, reporting guidelines and/or terminologies                               | [FAIR Metric - R1.3 - Metadata - Resource adopts one or more community or general standards](https://fairsharing.org/8859)         |

## Relationship with the FAIR-enabling database benchmarks

All metrics currently included in the TRUST benchmark are reused from the [FAIR-enabling database](/fairsharing/fair-assistance/database-level-fairness.md) benchmarks. The FAIR-enabling benchmarks assess characteristics relevant to the FAIR Principles, including repository governance and the capabilities that databases provide to support FAIR practices.

Many of these characteristics are also relevant to repository TRUSTworthiness. For example, preservation and sustainability information provides evidence about long-term stewardship; documentation and support channels provide evidence of user and community support; and the adoption of community standards provides evidence relevant to repository responsibility and technology.

Reuse of a metric across the FAIR and TRUST benchmarks means that the **repository characteristic represented by that metric is relevant to both frameworks**. It does not mean that the corresponding FAIR and TRUST Principles are equivalent.

This approach also allows information already curated within FAIRsharing to be reused consistently across different assistance and assessment frameworks.

## Future work

The current benchmark is based on TRUST-relevant characteristics that can already be represented using existing FAIRsharing metrics.

Future development may introduce additional TRUST-specific metrics where a TRUST Principle cannot be adequately represented through an existing metric. For example, **data curation practices** have been identified as relevant to the TRUST Responsibility Principle as well as to a number of [certification frameworks](/fairsharing/fair-assistance/database-level-fairness.md#governance-crosswalk), but are not included in the current benchmark because an appropriate metric has not yet been developed.

As FAIRsharing's repository metadata and assistance frameworks develop, the TRUST benchmark and its mappings will be updated accordingly.