FAIRRR 3/5 — Inside MAPP: API‑First Metadata for Reproducible Research

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This article is part of the FAIRRR series: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5

This is Post 3 of 5 in the FAIRRR series. Previous: FAIRRR, Explained • Next: Case Study—HCM with MAPP + Ontology Mapping

Why API‑first beats forms‑first

  • Interoperability: integrate ELN/LIMS, devices, and pipelines programmatically.
  • Automation: capture in‑flow with fewer manual steps and fewer errors.
  • Governance: versioned templates, roles, and validations at the edge.

What MAPP captures

  • Subjects and cohorts, with identifiers and lineage.
  • Procedures, protocols, and deviations.
  • Devices, firmware, and environment.
  • Behaviors and outcomes.
  • Analysis pipelines, inputs/outputs, parameters, and versions.

Standards under the hood

  • Persistent identifiers for linkability.
  • Community ontologies for semantics and comparability.
  • Provenance (who/what/when/where/how) and versioning.

Example payload sketch (illustrative):

{
  "study": {"id": "STUDY:123", "title": "Open Field"},
  "animal": {"id": "ANML:001", "strain": "C57BL/6J"},
  "device": {"id": "DEV:OF-01", "model": "OF-Cam", "firmware": "1.3.2"},
  "procedure": {"id": "PROC:OF", "ontology": "OAE:0001"},
  "behavior": {"id": "MBO:000123", "label": "Exploration"},
  "provenance": {"who": "tech_a", "when": "2025-09-01T10:30:00Z", "where": "Room 3"},
  "analysis": {"pipeline": "of-v1", "version": "0.9.4", "params": {"fps": 30}}
}

Integration patterns

  • ELN/LIMS sync via connectors.
  • Pipeline hooks that emit RO‑Crate/PROV‑O flavored exports.
  • Repository exports with licenses and DOI metadata.

Governance built‑in

  • Role‑based access; review workflows.
  • Versioned, reusable templates.
  • Validations that keep data FAIR by design.

Series navigation: Previous ← FAIRRR, Explained • Next → Case Study—HCM with MAPP + Ontology Mapping

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