Those conducting research at the NWT LTER site recognize their obligation to share data collected with public funds. It is also recognized that a summary and thorough analysis published in a refereed journal represents the first, best "sharing" of a LTER data set. The NWT data management policy, therefore, includes provisions that ensure investigators have a reasonable opportunity to have initial use of the data they have collected.

Metadata for all data sets are available without restrictions, as are are all published data and unreduced climatological data. Unreduced data collected by individual investigators are available (1) with the permission of the investigator for specific scientific purposes, or (2) without restrictions 2-3 years after the generation of those data (unless documented justification for continued restrictions has been provided by the investigator). The following acknowledgment should accompany any publication or citation of these data:

Logistical support and/or data were provided by the NSF supported Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research project and the University of Colorado Mountain Research Station

The user of NWT LTER data agrees to provide proper acknowledgment with each usage of the data. Citation of the name(s) of the investigator(s) responsible for the data set, in addition to the generic statement above, constitute proper acknowledgment. Author(s) (including NWT investigators) of published material that makes use of previously unpublished NWT data agree to provide the NWT data manager with four (4) copies (preferably reprints) of that material for binding as soon as it becomes available. The user of NWT data agrees not to resell or redistribute shared data. The user of these data should be aware that, while efforts have been taken to ensure that these data are of the highest quality, there is no guarantee of perfection for the data contained herein and the possibility of errors exists.

Although data management at NWT historically has been individual investigator oriented, it is recognized that an understanding of the manner in which data were collected and/or manipulated is necessary to allow proper interpretation by researchers not involved in the original collection. Moreover, it is important that critical components of NWT data sets or associated metadata are not "lost" as a result of an investigator leaving the project. Accepted protocol, therefore, is as follows.

The individual investigator must maintain at minimum a detailed hard copy documentation of the collection methodology (including experimental design, field procedures, and laboratory analyses) and subsequent manipulation (including mathematical and statistical procedures, transformations, etc.) for each of the NWT LTER data sets for which he or she is responsible. This documentation shall also include: a complete listing of files (and their formats) with their physical locations (e.g. machines on which they are stored), quality assurance and quality control protocol (visual verification is the minimum standard for quality assurance during unreduced data entry), backup procedures (including frequency), and archive storage media (including type, number of copies, physical locations, and replacement periods). Because the documentation should be updated on at least an annual basis (and as often as procedural modifications occur), it is recommended that such documentation be maintained as an ASCII file or in a common word-processing format on magnetic or digital media. All unreduced and unmanipulated data shall be archived in ASCII format on magnetic or digital media. At least one set of backups shall be stored in a different building than that in which the data are archived.

In the event that an investigator leaves the NWT project, she or he must provide the site data manager with copies of all NWT data and associated metadata (on magnetic or electronic media) for which she or he is responsible. Nevertheless, it is understood that the investigator's first rights to publication as specified in the initial two paragraphs of this document will still apply.

In 1992 a centralized data management system was implemented. The primary objectives of this data management system were to (1) assure high quality of data that are manually entered into the computer, (2) standardize quality control procedures for all data sets, (3) assure that raw data are archived in an unmanipulated format and in a timely fashion, (4) reduce the times between data collection, entry, and analysis because (a) poorly recorded, erroneous, and/or missing data are more easily recovered, (b) improvements in experimental design, data collection forms, etc. can be made in a more timely fashion, and (c) lost data collection forms and field notebooks can be disastrous, (5) maintain adequate backup protocols for all data sets, and (6) facilitate data access. The methods by which these objectives were to be achieved include (1) design of field and laboratory data collection forms, (2) development of on-screen forms for the manual entry of data, (3) development of Unix shell scripts and Visual Basic Programs for processing of both electronic and manually entered data, (4) regular backup of all directories in which NWT LTER data are archived, and (5) use of the source code control system to monitor and limit changes to data files. Data of electronic origin are now archived automatically, and without modification; manually entered data are subjected to rekey verification. Data entry and manipulation programs, as well as all other data management protocols, are fully documented in hard-copy manuals, "The Management of NWT LTER Data on the PC" and "The Management of NWT LTER Data on culter". These manuals are "living" documents, i.e. they are updated on a continuous basis. Both raw, unprocessed and processed data are archived in ASCII format. Processed data are also archived with metadata in a standardized ASCII format.

[Created 16 June 1993 by Rick Ingersoll; Last revised 18 December 2003 by Todd Ackerman]