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To understand 'semantics', different aspects of the data elements/variables should be analysed:.

• the The definition/description of data elementsvalues that are allowed to chose (e.g..

• Values for choices. For example, in system A, sex allows for male and female, while in system B, sex also allows for intersex. Such difference reflects the gap of their semantics).

• relationship Relationship between data elements (e. g.For example, ‘sex’ variable is one attribute of ‘patient’ profile, which may imply that the semantics of this ‘sex’ variable is ‘sex of patient’).

The outcome of this step should be a set of data elements (variables) with clear and unambiguous semantics (a codebook), which reflect the information you want to collect or share. Be aware that finding machine-actionable items from ontologies for the data elements is not yet part of this step, but is described in Create or reuse a semantic (meta)data model.

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While performing this step, keep your FAIRification goals in mind. If you have a clear idea of your FAIRification goals, it might be easier to define what elements should be present in your (meta)data and how these elements should be represented.

For example, in a dataset a variable to collect sex-related data might be called ‘sex’. If the semantics of such variable are not provided or not analyzedanalysed, it would be unclear if it means ‘biological sex at birth', ‘phenotypic sex’, or ‘gender’. These issues have to be solved before you start with the semantic (meta)data model.

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Step 2 - Check for an existing standard/code bookcodebook

a) For existing (meta)data: check if it comes with a code book codebook or metadata standard. In case it does and it is clear, you can use it for your (meta)data and this step is done.
If the codebook is not helpful, you should contact the owner of the data and get the semantics cleared up, so you don’t misinterpret the data. If you see you still need to do additional work in order to make the data clearer, follow the steps below.

b) For new (meta)data: check if there is a code book codebook or metadata standard you can use. A domain expert (for data) or FAIR data steward/semantic expert (for metadata) can help you find out if and where a codebook or standard might be available.
In case there is a codebook or standard, you can use it. If there is no codebook or standard available, proceed to step 3.

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