Information Management Policy

Policy for Submission of Data

The Harvard Forest endorses the LTER Network Data Access Policy which states that research data must be made available online within 2 years of collection and no later than publication of the main findings.

The following guidelines must be followed for all research projects at Harvard Forest:

1. A Research Project Application must be submitted by the PI at the start of a new project and annually thereafter until the project is completed.
2. Data and metadata must be submitted to the Information Manager within 2 years of collection for inclusion in the online Data Archive. Exceptions to this rule must be approved by the Director. For instructions please see Guidelines for Submission of Data & Metadata.
3. Primary responsibility for data completenesss and integrity (quality control) rests with the project PI.

Policy for Use of Data

Harvard Forest online data are freely available for downloading and subsequent use. Prospective users are asked to identify themselves so that we may track dataset usage for our sponsoring agencies. The following Use statement appears in the online metadata for each dataset:

This dataset is released to the public and may be freely downloaded. Please keep the designated Contact person informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation or collaboration with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset must include proper acknowledgement. For more information on LTER Network data access and use policies, please see: http://www.lternet.edu/data/netpolicy.html.