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Title:
Sharing data resources benefits owners as well as miners.
Authors:
Smith, R. W.
Affiliation:
AA(Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, United States ; )
Publication:
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #IN11C-1051
Publication Date:
12/2008
Origin:
AGU
AGU Keywords:
0434 Data sets, 6349 General or miscellaneous
Abstract Copyright:
(c) 2008: American Geophysical Union
Bibliographic Code:
2008AGUFMIN11C1051S

Abstract

The most fundamental part of any research activity is the data created. Data are most frequently the result of physical measurements but, increasingly, also result from the operation of a computer code. Given that the methods of creation are properly executed and recorded, data have an intrinsic value regardless of the ensuing study in which they are used. Data are part of the intellectual property associated with the work of a scientist. Like any other form of property, the value to the cognizant community depends upon access and available usage. Data that remain on some hidden storage medium are like a bank account storing funds at with no interest accrual, an apparent waste of opportunity. Not sharing data with the cognizant community needs a justification like security risk or possible danger. The historically contentious issue associated with data as intellectual property is the protection of the owner's rights of first use. This paper contends that data sharing is the proper and most productive strategy for scientists to gain the most value from their work. The first example illustrating the point relates to the Alaska Climate Research Center (www.climate.gi.alaska.edu) operated by the Geophysical Institute (GI) where the data is shared on a website that gets 35,000 hits (2000 visits) per day. The data is a mixture of current weather and historical meteorological observations. The latter could be considered the property of the GI. Although most website hits are for the current weather, web inquiries for meteorological observations across the state, some dating back to 1820, are available for all to use. This kind of sharing brings the most volume and greatest value from the stored data. The second relates to the personal observations of GI faculty members who share their measurements directly on the web as soon as they are available. These data are the same as published in their personal work, and are also available for others to use based on some simple "rules of the road". This strategy broadens the applications of his work and results in more co-authorships along the way. Many federal granting agencies require a similar approach of rapid dissemination of data. The recent introduction of virtual observatories has strengthened this approach and also provides a formalism for the protection of data owners.
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