Q.1. Will SAEON take ownership of my data?
No, ownership always remains with the
data provider (either the researcher or the institute to which they are
affiliated).
Q.2. Will SAEON or anyone else use my data?
SAEON will only ever make use of
data that has already been granted free access to the public – this can only be
done by the data provider. The public will only ever have access to data that
has already been disseminated, in other words, the data provider has already
granted permission for the data to be made freely available to the public.
Q.3. If SAEON or anyone else uses my data, will I be acknowledged?
Yes, it is
part of the SAEON Data User Agreement, which any potential data user must sign
before they can access a freely available dataset, that the data provider must
be duly acknowledged in any publication or data product arising from the use of
the original dataset.
Q.4. If I register my project with SAEON, will my data automatically be made
freely available to the public?
No, however, two years after completion of a
project all data and metadata will be made publicly available. Only data that is
sensitive will not be made freely available to the public. The data provider may
motivate to maintain the privacy of their data, however this should be a rare
occurrence.
Q.5. Can SAEON archive my data even if my project is not registered through one
of the SAEON nodes?
Yes, SAEON archives and disseminates (if the data provider
agrees to it) historical data as well as non-SAEON generated data. You would be
able to archive your data with SAEON through this channel. All of your data
would have to be accompanied by metadata (information about your data, but not
the data itself), which would always be made freely available to the public.
Q.6. Can I make changes to my data or remove a dataset from the SAEON archive?
Yes, the data provider is responsible for maintaining the quality of the data
that he/she archives and if it is necessary to update a dataset then this is
possible. Additionally, if there is any breach of contract between either SAEON
or a data user and the data provider, the data provider has the right to
withdraw his/her dataset from the archive.
Q.7. In the SAEON Metadata Form What is a Non-SAEON Project?
In addition to
archiving datasets from SAEON Registered Projects, SAEON also archives
historical datasets and data from current projects that are not registered
through SAEON. In the Metadata Form, the term “Non-SAEON Projects” refers to
those datasets that were collected in projects that were never registered
through SAEON. Note that the Metadata Form is used for all data archiving
purposes, not just project registration purposes, hence the inclusion of
Non-SAEON Projects.
Q.8. In the SAEON Data Provider Agreement, what are “SAEON Generated Data” and
“Non-SAEON Generated Data”?
“SAEON Generated Data” refers to data that have been
collected through SAEON Registered Projects, while “Non-SAEON Generated Data”
refers to either historical data or to data that have been collected through
projects not registered with SAEON.