North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database

ontributors to the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPSD) make their information available with the understanding that users are bound by ethical guidelines established for the protection of legitimate intellectual property rights. It is recognized that many beneficial and appropriate uses of unpublished data arise that neither preempt nor diminish the ability of researchers to publish their own information in any manner they choose. However, other possible actions by users of this system are not without potentially negative consequences for contributors.

Our ethical guidelines are based not upon what it is legal to do, but rather upon what it is ethical to do with other peoples’ hard-won data. Attached to each observation in the database is a release code indicating allowable uses of contributed data as follows:

Code	Meaning
1	Unrestricted – information may be used without contacting the contributor. A courtesy contact is suggested, however, in case of extensive use of data from one source.
2	Restricted – citation or inclusion of data in hard copy or electronic documents requires prior consultation and consent of the contributor.
3	Provisional – data may, with implied consent, be used for analyses, deliberations, or documentation that does not entail formal publication in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Examples of qualifying “unpublished” documentation include Environmental Impact Statements, agency administrative reports, resource planning documents, etc. In case of doubt about the definition of scientific publication, contributors should be contacted beforehand.

1. In accessing data from the NPPSD, users shall read and satisfy the requirements of data release codes. If codes require that one or more persons be contacted before using data in a particular manner, the presumption will be that the appropriate contributors have been contacted and the uses cleared beforehand.

2. Some data contained in the NPPSD are readily available nowhere else. Other data are available in much the same format in scientific literature, and in those cases the relevant publications are cited in the database. Wherever possible, citation of original published sources of data is preferred over an anonymous reference to the NPPSD.

3. The success of the NPPSD depends in large measure on full participation and reciprocity among professionals. It is expected that users of this system possessing relevant data of their own will have already contributed their data or made suitable arrangements with the System Administrator for the future and timely inclusion of their information in the database.

4. In the introduction or methods section of any document that makes direct use of information obtained from the database, the author(s) shall include the following statement, reproduced verbatim or paraphrased appropriately: “Analyses and conclusions contained in this document are based wholly or in part on information obtained from the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database. The author(s) have complied with published guidelines for the ethical use of such data.”

Users will find that compliance with the first of these guidelines is made as easy as possible by inclusion of current contact information for all contributors of data to the system.

A registration page is currently under development that will allow acquisition of data given the above guidelines.