MAPSview

MAPSview - Data Use Policy (MAPS Rules-of-the-Road)

The Magnetosphere and Plasma Science Discipline Working Group (MAPS) of the Cassini Huygens Mission agrees to the following set of procedures and rules to assure an orderly and efficient analysis and interpretation of the mission's scientific results.

1. Instrument Principal Investigators (PI), Science Team Leaders (TL) and Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDS) will be designated MAPS PIs. It is the responsibility of MAPS PIs to ensure that the Rules-of-the-Road are observed by their team. MAPS instrument PIs and TLs will be referred to as instrument PIs. The MAPS team is composed of all MAPS PIs, their CoIs, team members and associates (such as students, postdocs, etc.). Each team member must be sponsored by a MAPS PI.

2. Each instrument PI is responsible for the analysis of data from his/her instrument. The instrument PIs and their CoIs are responsible for the initial analysis, interpretation, and publication of these data.

3. IDSs are expected, under normal circumstances, to carry out investigations that involve more than one instrument. This may occur either as a result of their proposing such investigation, or their being invited to participate in investigations by other MAPS PIs. When investigations are proposed in an area in which an IDS is known to have an interest, the normal procedure will be to invite him/her to participate.

4. All instrument PIs are expected to contribute their processed data for MAPS team use. However, these data are to be used for correlative studies only.

5. When data from an instrument are used in a correlative study, the instrument PI responsible for the data must be informed of their use, and invited at an early time (preferably before the investigation begins) to participate (directly or through designated associates) in the study. The collaborators from the data providing instrument should be invited, through the PI, to be co-authors of any resulting publication or presentation (including abstract of a presentation).

6. The combined summary plots are made available to MAPS to identify possible scientifically interesting events. These plots are not intended for publication purposes, and may not be published without the specific authorization of the appropriate instrument PI. However, summary plots can be used in oral presentations to demonstrate potential new science. In such cases appropriate credit must be given to the instrument PI.

7. Each MAPS member entrusted with the summary plots are required to see that they are not distributed beyond the MAPS community without the specific permission of the instrument PIs who contributed data to the summary plot.

8. Any instrument PI can release data from his/her instrument to anyone, but no data can be released or published without the permission of the appropriate instrument PI.