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Data
Archiving Policy
The National Science Foundation is committed to the principle
that the various forms of data collected with public funds belong
in the public domain. Therefore, the Division of Behavioral and
Cognitive Sciences has formulated a policy to facilitate the process
of making data that has been collected with NSF support available
to other researchers.
The purpose of
this policy is to advance science by encouraging data sharing
among researchers. Data sharing strengthens our collective capacity
to meet scientific standards of openness by providing opportunities
for further analysis, replication, verification and refinement
of research findings. These opportunities enhance the development
of fields of research and support the potential for cross-directorate
activity. In addition, the greater availability of research data
will contribute to improved training for graduate and undergraduate
students, and make possible significant economies of scale through
the secondary analysis of extant data. Finally, researchers have
a special obligation to scientific openness and accountability
when the research is publicly funded.
BCS supports
a wide range of disciplines. The nature of the data, the way they
are collected, analyzed, and stored, and the pace at which this
reasonably occurs varies widely. There are different storage facilities
and different access requirements for, e.g., archaeological data,
specimens from physical anthropology, large-scale survey data,
oral interviews with scientists and other subjects, data generated
by experimental research, and field records of tribal ceremonies.
Where appropriate and possible, grantees from all fields will
develop and submit specific plans to share materials collected
with NSF support. These plans should cover how and where these
materials will be stored, at reasonable cost, and how access will
be provided to other researchers, generally at their cost.
This policy explicitly
recognizes that many complexities arise across the range of data
collection supported by BCS programs, and that unusual circumstances
may require modifications or even full exemptions. For example,
human subjects protection requires removing identifiers, which
may be prohibitively expensive or render the data meaningless
in research that relies heavily on extensive in-depth interviews.
Intellectual property rights may be at risk in some forms of data
collection. The policy is intended to be flexible enough to accommodate
the variety of scientific enterprises that constitute BCS programs.
No comprehensive set of rules is possible, but the procedures
indicated below are designed to provide guidance for broad categories
of data collection.
Guidelines for Categories of Data
Experimental Research
In experimental research, individuals, be they people, animals,
or objects, are subjected to preplanned conditions and their responses
tabulated in some fashion. Investigators should plan to make these
tabulated data available to other investigators requesting them,
at a minimum along the lines suggested by Geoffrey Loftus in his
editorial in the January, 1993, issue of Memory and Cognition.
In addition, complete information on how an experiment was conducted
and any unusual stimulus materials should be made available, so
that failures to replicate will not turn out to depend on one
scientist's incomplete understanding of another's procedure. BCS
will work with the research community to identify and resolve
problems with developing and establishing centralized archives.
Mathematical
and Computer Models
Often in the course of conducting research, investigators develop
mathematical and computer models, either as an innovative aid
in the analysis of data or as a theoretical statement about the
processes involved in generating some classes of data. Investigators
should plan to make these models available to others wanting to
apply them to other data sets or experimental situations. In rare
cases, the descriptions in published articles are sufficient;
more often, it will be necessary for investigators to prepare
fully documented and robust versions of these models, typically
on disk, so that they can be provided to others. BCS will work
with the research community to identify and resolve problems with
developing and estasblishing centralized archives for these models.
Object Based
Research
Some research supported by BCS is based on objects such as archaeological
specimens or fossil remains. In these instances data consist of
the objects themselves,contextual information such as geological
sections and finally quantitative and qualitative descriptions
of the materials. Because these physical objects rarely become
the property of the investigator but belong to a host nation or
cultural group, scientists often do not control access to them.
This situation is further complicated by the fact that description
of materials often must proceed slowly and may take several years
to complete. However, it is still incumbent upon the investigator
to make primary and contextual information available as rapidly
as possible to permit other scientists to examine them and draw
their own conclusions.
Qualitative
Information
The kinds of qualitative information collected in research projects
supported by BCS can range from microfilms and other copies of
very old documents to oral interviews and video tapes about historical
events in science or about contemporary technological controversies.
They can consist of ethnographic or linguistic field notes or
recordings or transcriptions, or hand written records of open-ended
interviews. Investigators should consider whether and how they
can develop special arrangements to keep or store these materials
so that others can use them. If it is appropriate for other researchers
to have access to them, the investigators should specify a time
at which they will be made generally available, in an appropriate
form and at a reasonable cost.
Quantitative
Social and Economic Data Sets
For appropriate data sets, researchers should be prepared to place
their data in fully cleaned and documented form in a data archive
or library within one year after the expiration of an award. Before
an award is made, investigators will be asked to specify in writing
where they plan to deposit their data set(s). This may be the
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
(ICPSR) at the University of Michigan, but other public archives
are also available. The investigator should consult with the program
officer about the most appropriate archive for any particular
data set.
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