REVISED, BASED ON SEC DCWG (3/27/03)
1. The Principal Investigators (PI) shall, in a timely manner, make available to the science data user community (Users) data and access methods to reach the scientifically useful data and provide analysis tools equivalent to the level that the PI uses.
2. The Principal Investigators (PI) shall make available appropriate data products to the public that assist the PIÕs EPO responsibilities.
3. The PI shall assure all scientifically important data are archived to ensure long-term accessibility of the data and their correct and independent usability.
4. The PI shall inform Users of updates to processing software and calibrations via metadata and other appropriate documentation.
5. Users should consult with the PI to ensure that the Users are accessing the most recent available versions of the data and analysis routines.
6. Browse products are not intended for science analysis or publication and should not be used for those purposes without consent of the PI.
7. Users should acknowledge the sources of data used in all publications, presentations, and reports.
8. Users should transmit to the PI a copy of each manuscript that uses the PIÕs data upon submission of that manuscript for consideration of publication. On publication the citation should be transmitted to the PI and any other providers of data.
9. Users are encouraged to make tools of general utility and/or value added data products widely available to the community. Users are encouraged to notify the PI of such utilities or products. The User should also clearly label the product as being different from the original PI-produced data product.
10. The editors of scientific journals should avail themselves of the expertise of the PI while a data set is still unfamiliar to the community, and when it is uncertain whether authors have employed the most up-to-date data and calibrations.
It is becoming increasingly necessary to study the Sun and Earth as an interconnected system. Thus the NASA SEC Theme seeks to provide data to a broad community of users who will combine data sets from a variety of sources to obtain a better understanding of Sun-Earth interactions. An Open Data policy with adequate documentation of data and data access and analysis tools is necessary for such an effort. With this in mind, the SEC mission data will be treated as a public resource and will be made available with documentation for public access as soon as is practicable.
Under SECÕs Open Data policy, NASA SEC-funded Principal Investigators (PI) on flight missions will provide access to the highest quality data needed for research and the most recent versions of calibration parameters, processing software, metadata, and documentation, with minimal delay for the scientific community. The precise description of the data products and the acceptable delay are specified by a Project Data Management Plan (PDMP), which is negotiated between NASA and the PI. The PI is the responsible individual; the PI may designate, by mutual agreement, other persons or organizations to provide various data functions.
There is no contractual relation between PIs and science data users, but given the transition to an Open Data policy, it seems appropriate to try to identify Rules of the Road for the distribution and use of SEC data. The SEC Data Rules of the Road define, during the life of a mission, the mutual obligations of a funded PI and the science user community (Users), with respect to instrument data distribution and use. Cooperative relationships among PIs and users will maximize the scientific productivity of individuals and the community, and make opportunities for future mission data a reality.
The Rules are based on past experience. PIs on existing missions and present Users already follow many of the Rules. However, professional scientists are not the only users of PI data. Amateur scientists, educators, and the general public all find value in the products of NASA missions. The SEC example can help them to join NASAÕs enterprise in the same spirit of cooperation.
The Rules are intended to apply to future missions. There may be financial or contractual constraints that prevent the retroactive implementation of all of the Rules to previous datasets. By setting them out as an example now, the community can include them in planning of future activities.
Rules of the Road will evolve
The Rules listed here are a prototype and will be modified as PIs and Users learn how to interact in an Open Data environment. Since SEC-funded PIs and Users form only part of the larger Sun-Earth scientific community, the success of these rules depends on the courteous and ethical behavior of that community. We encourage Sun-Earth connection data providers and users funded by other agencies and other nations to adopt open data policies and rules, within limitations imposed by funding levels and the requirements of those agencies. The interplay of this larger community will evolve the best Rules possible.
1. The Principal Investigators (PI) shall, in a timely
manner, make available to the science data user community (Users) data and
access methods to reach the scientifically useful data and provide analysis
tools equivalent to the level that the PI uses.
Modern computer systems have evolved to a sufficient level that it is now possible to provide Òon demandÓ access to high level data. Wherever possible the PI should provide access to the data and analysis tools, and the PI is strongly encouraged to provide access to those tools that add value to the data, such as time series displays, spectrogram generation, etc. These tools should closely follow the tools used by the PI, as the active use by the PI ensures that the access for Users is functional and effective.
There is no implication that Users must have direct access to the computer systems for mission operations or software development. Data management and distribution are separate functions from those tasks.
2. The Principal Investigators (PI) shall make available
appropriate data products to the public that assist the PIÕs EPO
responsibilities.
The EPO component of any mission is a vital part of the effort, and the PI should provide data that assist the EPO effort. In doing so it should be recognized that the data used for EPO is not the same as that used for data analysis by the scientific community.
3. The PI shall assure all scientifically important data
are archived to ensure long-term accessibility of the data and their correct
and independent usability.
Submittal of the mission data to an archive such as the NSSDC is required as part of the mission. This archive should include all the necessary documentation to ensure that the data can in principle be regenerated independently from the system architecture used to initially generate the mission data products. It is not, however, the responsibility of the PI to provide architecture independent analysis or data reduction software.
4. The PI shall inform Users of updates to processing
software and calibrations via metadata and other appropriate documentation.
Different disciplines within SEC have different protocols for updates to data processing. Some use strict version control, with new versions of software and data products released in blocks at intervals. Other disciplines release new versions of individual tools as they are completed, and data products are generated on demand using the most current versions of software tools available. Whatever the protocol, a User must be able to identify the status of software and processed data. The PI should provide access to documentation that allows Users to determine the calibration and processing history, but since a PI does not necessarily know the identity of all Users accessing the data, it is not the PIÕs responsibility to actively notify Users of changes in calibration or processing software.
5. Users should consult with the PI to ensure that the
Users are accessing the most recent available versions of the data and analysis
routines.
Even the best documentation can be misinterpreted. Furthermore, while the PI is responsible for providing access to documentation (#4 above), it is the Users responsibility to verify that they are using the most recent version of the data. Consultation ensures that Users do not waste effort and that the quality of the PIÕs data is not erroneously questioned.
6. Browse products are not intended for science analysis or publication and should not be used for those purposes without consent of the PI.
Operations planning, education, and public outreach all drive the desire for rapid availability of browse products. Science analysis should be based on the properly reduced underlying science grade data.
7. Users should acknowledge the sources of data used in
all publications, presentations, and reports.
The use of data from PI investigations for the communityÕs science is an important measure of the value of the investigations and of the PIÕs commitment to supporting the community. Acknowledging the data sources helps to ensure continued access to the data, and also gives credit where credit is due.
8. Users should transmit to the PI a copy of each
manuscript that uses the PIÕs data upon submission of that manuscript for
consideration of publication. On publication the citation should be transmitted
to the PI and any other providers of data.
Continued funding for mission operations, data reduction, and data distribution depends on the use of PI data by the community. It is less costly to assemble a record of use if the Users send manuscripts to the PIs than for the PIs to search the literature. Published abstracts and conference proceedings should be included; they track how rapidly and widely data becomes integrated into the communityÕs science perspective. The simultaneous transmission to publisher and PI gives the PI the opportunity to notify the User of misunderstandings about the data that may affect the manuscript without an implication of prior approval.
9. Users are encouraged to make tools of general utility
and/or value added data products widely available to the community. Users are
encouraged to notify the PI of such utilities or products. The User should also
clearly label the product as being different from the original PI-produced data
product.
Users can make a valuable contribution to the ability of the community to combine and analyze data sets. Community based open source software libraries should also be encouraged.
A key benefit of the Open Data policy is that the community will find creative products using mission data. The Users who benefit from the Open Data policy then have a corresponding obligation to share those products.
10. The editors of scientific journals should avail
themselves of the expertise of the PI while a data set is still unfamiliar to
the community, and when it is uncertain whether authors have employed the most
up-to-date data and calibrations.
Most journals allow editors wide latitude in how to handle manuscripts. The journal editors should therefore make use of the expertise provided by the PI, especially when new data sets appear for which the community has relatively little familiarity. Clearly any correspondence between editor and PI follows the usual rules for privileged communication that apply while a paper is in the review process, and further such correspondence should not be viewed as a right to refuse publication on the part of the PI. That decision falls to the editor.