Data policy V1.3

This document incorporates elements of the data policies of NSERC PermafrostNet, the IPA action group “International Database of Geoelectrical Surveys on Permafrost - IDGSP”, the YukonU Research Centre, and the Open Government Licence from the Government of Canada.


1. Purpose

The Canadian Permafrost Electrical Resistivity Survey Database (CPERS) is being created as a hub for sharing geoelectrical surveys of permafrost in a standardized and accessible way. The goal is to facilitate data sharing between stakeholders, including researchers and northern communities. The purpose of this data policy is to clarify the roles of data contributors and users and to outline the terms of use.

Please note that this document is expected to evolve over time.

2. Types of data

2.1 Metadata

Here, metadata includes all the information that describes the geoelectrical measurement data and provides additional information regarding the field site, project information, data contributor (usually the PI), measurement geometry, profile coordinates, etc.

2.2 Electrical resistivity data

Electrical resistivity data includes all raw and processed data, as well as the related topography at measurement locations (if available).


3. Data availability

Publicly available data will be visible on the map of surveys, available for download, and archived in a Nordicana D data publication.

3.1 Metadata

Contributed metadata are publicly available. Metadata cannot be embargoed.

3.1 Electrical resistivity data

Unless otherwise indicated, contributed electrical resistivity data are publicly available. However, there are some cases where the data contributor may not wish for the electrical resistivity data to be publicly available, e.g. if their employer does not allow data sharing. In this case, electrical resistivity data should not be shared with CPERS. In other cases, the data contributor may wish to delay the public sharing of their electrical resistivity data, e.g. in the case of ongoing research projects. In this case, the data contributor can define an embargo period, up to a maximum of two years from the date of submission. At the end of this period, the data will become publicly available.


4. Data contribution

When data contributors provide data and/or metadata to CPERS, they will be added to the membership list of the “CPERS Collective”. Contributed (meta)data will be archived on Nordicana D in a joint data publication by the CPERS Collective. This data publication will have a DOI and will be updated periodically as new datasets are contributed.

5. Terms of use

5.1 Permission

To use data from CPERS (e.g., in a presentation, publication, etc.), you must:

  • Contact the data contributor(s) to request permission to use the data

  • Discuss with the data contributor(s) the appropriate level of collaboration/attribution. This could include co-authorship, an invitation to review the work, a mention in the acknowledgements section, etc.

ERT data takes time, work, and funding to collect, and it is important to respect the efforts of data contributors. It is the data user's responsibility to discuss projects and publications with data contributors and to ensure an agreement is reached regarding the appropriate level of collaboration and attribution.

5.2 Attribution

To recognize the valuable role those who collect and prepare data, users of CPERS data must acknowledge data contributors. This acknowledgment should take the form of a formal citation as outlined below.

For a small number of datasets, it may be feasible to cite individual data contributors(s), e.g. “... data are provided by [authorship list for dataset as shown in the database], as part of the Canadian Permafrost Electrical Resistivity Survey database (CPERS) (CPERS Collective, [year])”.

When using amalgamated CPERS (meta)data, citing all individual contributors may be impractical. In this case, cite the entire CPERS Collective, e.g. “... data are provided by the Canadian Permafrost Electrical Resistivity Survey database (CPERS) Collective (CPERS Collective, [year])”.

Any use of CPERS metadata or measurement data must also include a reference to the Nordicana D joint data publication in the bibliography. As the reference may change slightly over time, please refer to the “data citation” section of the Nordicana D data publication to ensure you are citing the most recent version.

5.3 Liability

There is inherent uncertainty in electrical resistivity data due to how data are collected, processed, and interpreted. It is important to have a good understanding of these uncertainties before using electrical resistivity data to inform decisions.

CPERS data are provided “as is”, and CPERS and CPERS data contributors exclude all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law. CPERS and CPERS data contributors are not liable for any errors or omissions in the data, and will not under any circumstances be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other loss, injury or damage caused by its use or otherwise arising in connection with this data.