Rules of the Road for the Joint Global Ionospheric Campaign

Real-time data from a whole suite of ground-based instruments, space-borne instruments, and models are easily obtainable from the internet using the SPARC home pages. Experimenters and modelers make these data available only on the condition that a set of rules is obeyed by all users of them. Two sets of rules are applied here, one for the ground-based data and modelers, which is based on the CEDAR rules, and one for the space-borne instruments, which is based on the ISTP rules.

Ground-Based Data and Models

1. The user is required to establish early contact with the organizations whose data are being used in the project to discuss intended usage, in case the data should not be used in the planned fashion.
2. Draft copies of all reports and publications, along with offers of co-authorship, must be sent to the contact scientist for approval before they are formally submitted to journals or as Technical Reports. The offer of co-authorship may be declined.
3. Organizations that contributed data must be acknowledged in all reports and publications, even if co-authorship has been declined.
4. Copies of reports and papers should be submitted to SPARC so that a bibliography of publications can be kept up to date.

Space-Borne Instruments

1. NASA-funded missions and instruments have an ''open'' data policy.
2. Key parameter digital data will be non-proprietary and publicly available to allow for identification of possible scientifically interesting events or intervals. Prior to publication of key parameter data, users are encouraged to contact the appropriate PI(s) or the ISTP Science Planning and Operations facility about the availability of the most current data for the period of interest, and to have the quality of the data assessed.
3. All NASA campaign data will be archived and publicly available.
4. During a validation period of up to three months after data acquisition, all use of the data for scientific investigations must be approved by the PI(s) whose data are being used.
5. ISTP Data Policy contains the conditions of use of ISTP data.

CREW