Research Software MetaData (RSMD) Guidelines: A way forward for software recognition in Academia

The Research Software Metadata (RSMD) Guidelines poster presents a structured framework to improve the visibility, recognition, and reusability of research software in academia. Aimed at researchers, software engineers, curators, and institutional staff, the guidelines align with FAIR principles and support the broader goals of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). The poster outlines seven key aspects of software metadata: general information, accessibility and preservation, reference and identification, description and classification, credit and attribution, reuse and legal considerations, and re-executability. These categories are visually represented to emphasize their role in ensuring high-quality, sustainable metadata. The poster highlights the importance of embedding intrinsic metadata files directly into source code—such as README, LICENSE, CITATION.cff, and codemeta.json—and introduces the CodeMeta tools that support this practice, including a metadata vocabulary, crosswalk table, and generator. It acknowledges current challenges in adoption, automation, and proper citation while encouraging community engagement and institutional support. The RSMD Guidelines are designed to be adaptable across disciplines and national contexts, supporting open science policies such as those from UNESCO. A QR code or link directs viewers to the full guidelines on GitHub, inviting them to explore and implement these best practices for sustainable research software.