4 ms·

Surely the solution to this problem is to put the data into the public domain after a reasonable embargo period of maybe a few months or a year?

saraid216 13y ago
This seems fair to me, but I'm not the one who's being told, "Look, find a breakthrough in a year or you're going to get scooped by an amateur." It would be ironic and painful if open data policies resulted in scientists leaving the public sector, and I'd really like to see more open data.
- Amadou 13y ago
  Seems like the guy requesting that certain data be collected is due some measure of academic credit for having the foresight to know what question to ask, even if someone else "scoops" them on the analysis. Sure, sometimes the right question will be starkly obvious, but no system is perfect.
  - saraid216 13y ago
    > Seems like the guy requesting that certain data be collected is due some measure of academic credit for having the foresight to know what question to ask, even if someone else "scoops" them on the analysis. I'd agree, but my knowledge of the academic community is that credit goes by published papers and, secondarily, how often you get cited. This seems like one of those things where we just don't have a great system for giving people credit, and the one we do have is problematic. (Wealth is like that, too. Also, resumes.)
    - IanCal 13y ago
      Which is where things like figshare [0] work well. You can publish datasets/figures and you get a citable DOI for free. I published code there that my wife cited in her PhD, without having to do the usual computer science thing of writing a paper about it and having people cite that. Disclaimer: I work for a partner company. [0] http://figshare.com/ http://figshare.com/
      - ihnorton 13y ago
        I would recommend: http://www.gigasciencejournal.com/ http://www.gigasciencejournal.com/
godber 13y ago
This is exactly how it works and that data can be found here on the MSL PDS Archive: http://geo.pds.nasa.gov/missions/msl/index.htm http://geo.pds.nasa.gov/missions/msl/index.htm I think the standard release delay is six months. Though I'd say its less about exclusive access to data than it is about ensuring the consistency of that data. MANY things change in the early days of a mission.

saraid216 13y ago

This seems fair to me, but I'm not the one who's being told, "Look, find a breakthrough in a year or you're going to get scooped by an amateur." It would be ironic and painful if open data policies resulted in scientists leaving the public sector, and I'd really like to see more open data.

Amadou 13y ago
Seems like the guy requesting that certain data be collected is due some measure of academic credit for having the foresight to know what question to ask, even if someone else "scoops" them on the analysis. Sure, sometimes the right question will be starkly obvious, but no system is perfect.
- saraid216 13y ago
  > Seems like the guy requesting that certain data be collected is due some measure of academic credit for having the foresight to know what question to ask, even if someone else "scoops" them on the analysis. I'd agree, but my knowledge of the academic community is that credit goes by published papers and, secondarily, how often you get cited. This seems like one of those things where we just don't have a great system for giving people credit, and the one we do have is problematic. (Wealth is like that, too. Also, resumes.)
  - IanCal 13y ago
    Which is where things like figshare [0] work well. You can publish datasets/figures and you get a citable DOI for free. I published code there that my wife cited in her PhD, without having to do the usual computer science thing of writing a paper about it and having people cite that. Disclaimer: I work for a partner company. [0] http://figshare.com/ http://figshare.com/
    - ihnorton 13y ago
      I would recommend: http://www.gigasciencejournal.com/ http://www.gigasciencejournal.com/

godber 13y ago

This is exactly how it works and that data can be found here on the MSL PDS Archive: http://geo.pds.nasa.gov/missions/msl/index.htm http://geo.pds.nasa.gov/missions/msl/index.htm I think the standard release delay is six months. Though I'd say its less about exclusive access to data than it is about ensuring the consistency of that data. MANY things change in the early days of a mission.