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Data Submission Guidelines

The ultimate goal of the IYS Data Mobilization Strategy is that all expedition data are able to cruise participants, and that data are archived in open-access domain-specific data repositories where they will contribute to globally integrated analyses. How and where data are published will vary by research domain, however a copy of every dataset will be hosted in the IYS GitHub Organization.

Please submit data before the deadlines noted in the Data Policy by emailing datasets to secretariat@npafc.org and iys.data@hakai.org as a data package with additional files laid out in the Required Data Package section below.

Required Data Package Files:

  • Data files Ideally in the IYS data template, in .csv or .xlsx format with time zone indicated (UTC preferred), latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, and unique sample identifiers.

  • Data Dictionary: Define each variable (column name) in every table of your data. Include variable name, units, and short description if needed. Note that for Trawl catch/specimen data, CTD data, and Rosette the Data Dictionary exists as a tab in the Template Spreadsheet File.

  • README file (.txt or .docx) with the following sections:

  • Statement of Data Access: When can data submitted be made public? Can all of the submitted data be published, or can only a summarized/aggregated view be published? Keep in mind timelines should be in accordance with the IYS Data Policy

  • Abstract: (400 words max) This information will appear as the summary text in the metadata catalogue. Focus on what variables were measured, how the variables were measured, and why the data were collected to inform your hypotheses.

  • Protocols: Describe the field, lab, and data processing protocols used to produce your data. This could be the same text used in a Cruise Report if there is sufficient information to reproduce methods.

  • Supplementary Materials Provide publication(s) referenced in protocol description. Provide any scripts or calibration files that were used to clean up/quality control data, filter data from the raw data, or calculate values in the final data package.

Data Format

In all cases:

  • Indicate the time zone of date and time columns (UTC is preferred)
  • Report locations as latitude and longitude in decimal degrees (ie. 49.12345, -110.54321)
  • Include columns that indicate from which specimen, trawl, station, or event the data relate to
  • Include unique sample identifiers

See an example data package to copy here.

Fill out authorship metadata for your data set in the metadata spreadsheet to ensure appropriate citation for dataset authors.

Email data packages to secretariat@npafc.org and iys.data@hakai.org