Responsible Data Use or what should you do

Responsible Data Use (or what should you do if you find yourself re-using someone else’s data) Ruth Duerr National Snow and Ice Data Center

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Your Responsibilities as a Data User • Determining the suitability of data for your purposes • Following applicable data access and use policies • Giving credit to archives and data creators • Providing the data source with feedback about any errors or limitations with the data discovered

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Just because it is “good” data, doesn’t mean that it is right for your project! Corollary Just because it isn’t right for your project, doesn’t mean that it is “bad” data!

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Hints for Determining Data Suitability • Read any papers, documentation and metadata provided – it is there for a reason! • See http: //nsidc. org/data/mod 10 a 1 v 5. html for an example of a fairly well documented data set • If you still have questions, assess support availability and if acceptable ask! • See http: //nsidc. org/data/g 02199. html for an example of a poorly documented data set with an extremely low level of available support • Be aware that due to documentation and support limitations, the best data for your purposes may not be available to or usable by you

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist A few words about data access and use • The trend in many disciplines is towards greater data sharing, but… • Norms vary by discipline (and country), for example you may need to • Submit an application for access • Sign a data transfer and usage agreement • Travel to the repository to obtain access • Moreover there are legitimate reasons for restricting access, for example: • To protect the confidentiality of human subjects • To protect the rights of local and traditional knowledge holders • To protect information that if released may cause harm (e. g. , location of endangered species, sacred sites, etc. )1 • It is your responsibility to understand follow the norms for the data your are using. 1 see IPY Data Policy at classic. ipy. org/Subcommittees/final_ipy_data_policy. pdf

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Would you really share your work if you thought others not going to give you credit? So cite the data you use!

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Data management funding is scarce so Cite the data you use, so that they continue to be available!

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Data Citation – Now • Currently data citation standards and requirements vary 1. 2. 3. 4. From journal to journal From repository to repository From discipline to discipline Some times from author to author • Do your best to honor these existing norms • What might a data citation look like? • Zwally, H. J. , R. Schutz, C. Bentley, J. Bufton, T. Herring, J. Minster, J. Spinhirne, and R. Thomas. 2003. GLAS/ICESat L 1 A Global Altimetry Data V 018, 15 October to 18 November 2003. National Snow and Ice Data Center. Data set accessed 2011 -07 -21 at doi: 10. 3334/NSIDC/gla 01.

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Data Citation – In the Near Future • Data. Cite and other groups are working to make data citation a normal part of the scientific process. • For example, as of this year Thompson-Reuters Web of Science and Web of Knowledge include published data sets (i. e. , that have a DOI) • The ESIP Federation is working on citation guidelines for both data producers and data users. • See http: //wiki. esipfed. org/index. php/Interagency_Data_Stewardship/Citati ons

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist Why provide feedback? • Prevent other users from repeating your mistakes. • Improve the data or their documentation. • Better science, perhaps even new results, papers, and collaborators.

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist A few words about providing feedback • Feedback to a PI • Your reasons for using someone else’s data are likely different than their reasons for acquiring it in the first place. • So, they probably weren’t thinking of your needs when they acquired, documented and made it available. • Yet, if they thought their data would be useful to a community they probably would be flattered to help. • Diplomacy and tact may be called for (especially if you really think you’ve found an error not just a documentation problem). • Feedback to a data center is almost always welcome

Responsible Data Use; Presented 6 Dec 2011, AGU Data Management 101 for the Earth Scientist References and Resources • Polar Information Commons ethics and norms for data sharing at http: //www. polarcommons. org/ethics-and-normsof-data-sharing. php • Data management training materials in development are available at http: //wiki. esipfed. org/index. php/Data_Management_Course _Outline • A short list of data management related resources available on the web can be found at http: //wiki. esipfed. org/index. php/Data_Management_Resour ces