The Alaska Songbird Institute manages multiple long-term data sets. ASI upholds the idea that the best way to meet our mission is to disseminate these data to the public in an appropriate and timely manner, and we actively encourage data sharing and collaboration.

If you are interested in data use, please:

1. Read through the following policy.
2. Contact ASI to discuss your proposed use of the data and timeline at (907) 888-2121.
3. Fill out and return the Alaska Songbird Institute data sharing request form

The Alaska Songbird Institute (ASI) maintains multiple data sets, including those previously managed by the Alaska Bird Observatory from 1991-2012. Most data sets contain several years of data involving multiple investigators. ASI recognizes that these data sets can be used for many purposes, either on their own or through combination with other data. ASI encourages and facilitates the ethical and courteous use of data within its archives.

Any researcher wanting to use a substantial part of any data set collected and/or managed by ASI should submit a data sharing request form. The Alaska Songbird Institute supports the principle that publication of descriptive or interpretive results derived immediately and directly from the data is both the privilege and responsibility of the investigators who collect the data and/or current managers of the data. In most cases researchers requesting data should anticipate that the data collectors and/or current managers should be co-authors of published results.

ASI requests that the appropriate Alaska Songbird Institute personnel and ASI itself also be acknowledged in any publication, report, presentation or the like using data that have been collected by and/or entrusted to ASI. Additionally, ASI requests that the Alaska Bird Observatory be acknowledged in any publication, report, presentation or the like, when using data collected through 2012.

The decision to approve a data request is discretionary and will be made by ASI’s Executive Director and/or ASI Board of Directors and appropriate staff, when applicable. Data request and use conditions may be modified or in some cases waived by ASI’s Executive Director and/or Board of Directors in situations where the data will be used in presentations but not published. If appropriate, ASI may develop additional requirements to protect its interests and the interests of its collaborators.

Data collected on private lands and through specific collaborative agreements may be subject to more extensive sharing restrictions, depending on agreements between ASI and its collaborators. Some contractual agreements may preclude sharing (or otherwise publicly posting) some Alaska Songbird Institute data.

ASI has no obligation to inform anyone who has received data from the organization of subsequent changes (such as corrections, additions, or deletions) to those data.

Any costs that the Alaska Songbird Institute incurs in the process of providing or maintaining access to its datasets should be reimbursed. Costs may include but are not limited to wages for data maintenance and retrieval, as well as indirect costs for maintenance of computer equipment and backup systems.

If a request is approved, data will be made available upon agreed upon payment/reimbursement for time, materials, and other expenses incurred in providing the data.  Fees may be waived on a case-by-case basis based on co-authorship, existing collaborative agreements, and/or other factors. Requesting party(s) and ASI Executive Director or other designated ASI personnel must sign a data sharing agreement, acknowledging that all involved agree to abide by its recommendations.

Contact ASI for more information at (907) 888-2121 or tricia.blake@aksongbird.org.