SOCRATES Data Policy

Updated 23 October 2017

1. Instrument teams will provide quicklook data products to the project PIs for merging with other data sets within 24 hours of a flight to support in field quality control and flight planning. Model output related to the SOCRATES data sets will be similarly made available to the science teams as soon as is practical.
2. All instrument teams participating in SOCRATES agree to promptly submit their preliminary quality controlled measurement data to the SOCRATES Data Archive Center (SDAC) within 6 months after the project data are acquired. For real-time data collected in the field, this is by 26 August 2018. Similarly, model investigators agree to submit appropriate model products by 26 August 2018 to the SDAC. This will facilitate inter-comparison of results, quality control checks and inter-calibrations, and integrated interpretation of the combined data set. The preliminary data submission period for most data is therefore from 26 February 2018 to 26 August 2018. For measurements that require off-line analysis after the field project, including chemical analysis of samples collected, preliminary data should be released within 6 months of analysis.
3. All instrument teams and model investigators participating in SOCRATES agree to submit their final quality controlled measurement data and appropriate model products to the SDAC within 10 months after the project data are acquired. For real-time data, this is 26 December 2018. This will facilitate final merging and quality control checks in advance of the initial public release on 26 February 2019. Thus, the time period for submission of most final products is from 26 February 2018 to 26 December 2018. For measurements that require off-line analysis after the field project, including chemical analysis of samples collected, final data should be released within 10 months of analysis.
4. Preliminary and final data and model product submissions should include documentation in the form of a readme file describing the measurement and data processing procedures used to generate the data or the relevant model routines. Instrument investigators are encouraged to also submit raw data and all data processing routines used to get from the raw to final data products.
5. All data, metadata and model products in the archive will be considered open to the public domain 1 year after the data are acquired; (i.e., 26 February 2019 and thereafter for most data). However, any data, metadata or product within the SDAC at EOL can be opened to the public domain earlier at the discretion of the responsible data/product provider in consultation with the SOCRATES Scientific Steering Committee.
6. During the initial data analysis period, defined as from 26 February 2018 to 26 February 2019 (a one-year period following the end of the SOCRATES Field Deployment), SOCRATES Investigators will have exclusive access to the data and model products. This initial analysis period is designed to provide an opportunity to quality control the combined data set as well as to provide the investigators ample time to prepare manuscripts for publication and presentation.
7. Quicklook and preliminary data sets and model products will be distributed within the SOCRATES team and may be shared outside the team (with permission of the investigator responsible for the production of the data set) to support early analyses. However, in no case shall quicklook or preliminary data be used in a publication or conference presentation without agreement from the investigator or modeler making the data or product available.
8. A list of SOCRATES investigators will be maintained by NCAR/EOL and will include the investigators directly participating in the field experiment as well as collaborating scientists who are members of the SOCRATES Science Team and agencies who have provided guidance and data in the planning and analysis of SOCRATES data. All data shall be promptly provided to other SOCRATES investigators upon request if not available through the archive. All SOCRATES investigators will have equal access to all data. No restricted data will be provided to non-SOCRATES Investigators without the permission of the PI who collected that data.
9. During the initial analysis period, the Investigator(s) who collected the data or generated model output must be notified of the intent to use the data or model products in the early phase of the research project and especially before any journal articles, presentations, research proposals are developed. If the PI makes a significant intellectual contribution to the research, or if the data are essential to the work, or if an important result or conclusion depends on the data, co−authorship would normally be expected. This should be discussed at an early stage in the work. Any published use of the data should include an acknowledgment and/or a citation as described below.
10. All acknowledgments of SOCRATES data, metadata and model products should identify: (1) the SOCRATES campaign; (2) the crew and support staff at the NCAR Research Aviation Facility; (3) the providers who collected the particular datasets or conducted the model simulations used in the study; (4) the relevant funding agencies associated with the collection of the data or model simulations; (5) the role of EOL or relevant data archive center, and (6) use of any relevant Digital Objective Identifiers (DOIs). A suggested acknowledgment reads “The author(s) wish to acknowledge the SOCRATES Project, [xxx data provider] for the use of the [yyy particular data] funded by zzz [relevant funding agency], the SOCRATES Data Archive Center at NCAR’s Earth Observing Laboratory [and/or any other relevant Archive Center]. In addition, this text could include “This dataset is cited through doi:xx.xxxx/xxxxxxxx”, or preferably use the appropriate dataset citations(s) in the Publications References Section. The EOL expects to be assigning DOIs for all final datasets submitted to the main archive at EOL. Further, note that close collaboration and co-authorship with investigators collecting the data or creating the model products is highly encouraged.
11. The EOL will be responsible for the long-term data stewardship of the SOCRATES archive.