Data Errors Reporting Protocol
Background
The fundamental objectives of U.S. GLOBEC Georges Bank Program are
dependent upon the cooperation of scientists from several
disciplines. Physicists, biologists, and chemists must make use of
data collected during U.S. GLOBEC
Georges Bank field programs, historical retrospectives and laboratory
experiments to further our understanding of the interplay of
physics, biology, and chemistry. Our objectives require
quantitative analysis of interdisciplinary data sets and therefore
data must be exchanged between researchers. To extract the full
scientific value, data must be made available to the scientific
community on a timely basis and via a consistent user interface.
The U.S. GLOBEC Georges Bank Program subscribes to the U.S.
GLOBEC Data Policy, see U.S.
GLOBEC Data Policy, U.S. Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics Report
Number 10, February 1994. A critical and unique component of
this data policy is that data from our program will be made
available when the data are useful. Oftentimes, this means that the
data may not yet be "final" (i.e. without known errors) and still
be accessible via our data system. Indeed, it is expected that data
will be made available as soon as possible, and that investigators
who use the data will help identify any errors or problems. Of
course, anyone who does use the data must follow our Data Acknowledgment
Policy.
The protocol below defines the steps you should take if you
determine that an error does exist in one or more of our data sets.
Protocol
- Contact the responsible scientific investigator, with a CC to
the Data Management Office (DMO),
whenever a data problem is detected. Describe the error(s), and
specify which data set(s) have the error(s).
- The DMO, together with the responsible scientific investigator,
will determine if the problem is serious enough to warrant
notification of a larger audience.
The DMO needs to know about any data problems since the data may be
served from the DMO office rather than by the scientific
investigator (e.g. the event logs). The DMO will clear any data
changes with the responsible scientific investigator before any
changes are made.
Last modified: November 2, 2001