HMANA DATA RELEASE POLICY
Revision 200501

HMANA DATA:

Since 1974, HMANA has maintained an archive of raptor migration counts, contributed by more than 1800 spring and autumn hawk watches across the Americas. See Raptor Migration Data. The use of data maintained by HMANA is strongly encouraged. Indeed, hawk watches collect and provide their data to the HMANA data archives because they want it used by qualified users for purposes of raptor research, monitoring, conservation, and education.

 

Most data archived by HMANA are freely accessible via HawkCount and may used for personal consumption without the need for permissions or a data release request.? However, some hawk watches restrict public viewing of their data, in which case permission to view data may be sought through submission of a HMANA data release request. Regardless of viewing status, all other users of hawk watch data, especially anyone having an interest in publication or reproduction of raptor migration data, or analysis derived from these data, must always seek and receive explicit written permission for use of these data.

 

Over the decades, these hawk watches have gathered data at significant cost and effort, and therefore have proprietary ownership interests in the data they have produced. Additionally, hawk watches have widely differing priorities and need for oversight. As a service to data users and data providers, HMANA has developed a system to facilitate the use and publication of these data by outside researchers while preserving the rights of individual hawk watches. Requests for data may be made via the Data Release Request form and submitted to the HMANA Data Curator via email to data@hmana.org.

 

HMANA DATA RELEASE CONSIDERATIONS:

        Project summaries of approved projects are of great interest to HMANA membership and therefore may be published on the HMANA website and in other HMANA publications such as the Hawk Migration Studies.

        Many hawk watches require any researcher who uses more than 20% of its data (as measured by number of count days) from a single hawk watch to offer co-authorship to the designated representative of that hawk watch (if that hawk watch has so indicated to HMANA). HMANA will provide contact information upon request. The user is required to resolve co-authorship status with the site administrator before any public use of the data.

        Generally, data archived by HMANA is available in electronic form. In the case of data archived in paper form, the cost of copying of data forms may be passed on to the researcher.

        HMANA requires all users of data provided by HMANA to acknowledge the individual hawk watches that have contributed data to the study, as well as HMANA and HawkCount, as follows:

Data in this publication were collected by ___watchsite1, ____watchsite2, and ____, and provided by the Hawk Migration Association of North America (www.hmana.org) through its online HawkCount database (www.hawkcount.org).

        Hawk watches may also require customized acknowledgements to, for example, recognize key funders of their projects. The data user will be provided by HMANA the list of additional individuals and organizations that should be acknowledged in any public use of their data, as well as any other site-specific requirements.

        Data are provided to the researcher for the purpose(s) requested in the Data Release Request. Data may not be released or redistributed to any individual or organization other than those described in the Data Release Request.

        HMANA is committed to actively promoting professional courtesy, scientific integrity and ethical standards in the use of raptor migration data that it maintains. For additional information, see Ethical Standards.

 

Definitions of key terms may be found in the attached Glossary. Questions regarding the data or this Data Release Policy may be submitted to the HMANA Data Curator via email to data@hmana.org.