Data usage guidelines

Data usage guidelines

Jump to Formal policy: Acknowledgement for Using AAVSO Data
Jump to Dear Colleague letter from the Director on using AAVSO data

The AAVSO International Database is a collection of serious scientific data. The data available online, such as the quick look data and light curve generator are excellent preliminary data checking tools, however, they should NEVER be used for official research purposes. Most of the data has not been evaluated, i.e., passed the strict quality control of the AAVSO. Thus, it is unevaluated and may contain data that falls outside of the average magnitude for a given time and star.

If you need official AAVSO data for any reason please visit our data download page to send a data request for it. If the data are not already online, we will be glad to help you by providing the highest quality data available.

The AAVSO International Database is the product of the ongoing extensive efforts and expertise of the volunteer observers who contribute the data and the AAVSO Headquarters technical staff who prepare and maintain the database with high quality-control standards.

If you use AAVSO observations in your research, we request acknowledgement on behalf of the observers and the AAVSO.  Doing so indicates that you support the mission of the AAVSO, and respect the organization and the observers who provided these data to you.

Formal policy: Acknowledgement for Using AAVSO Data

Our policy for use and acknowledgement of the AAVSO and its data is as follows:

1) For publication in all AAS Journal Publications:

Please use the AAS facilities keyword "AAVSO" in your AAS journal publications.  This keyword was assigned by the American Astronomical Society and helps us track data usage.

2) Acknowledgement for data correlation/reference:

If AAVSO data are used for correlation with other types of data, such as multiwavelength observations, or as reference material, we request the following acknowledgement or one similar to it:

"We acknowledge with thanks the variable star observations from the AAVSO International Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this research."

3) Collaboration on data analysis:

If unpublished AAVSO data are analyzed, and play a substantive role in the interpretation of results, we request that the AAVSO's Director or designee be a co-author of the publication. As a co-author the AAVSO representative will be responsible for the quality of the AAVSO data and will provide essential input to the appropriate application, analysis, and interpretation of the data.

4) Referencing of unpublished data:

When unpublished AAVSO data are specifically referred to in the text, they should be referenced in the following manner (using appropriate format):

Henden, A.A., 2010, Observations from the AAVSO International Database, private communication.

5) Copyright

Data are (c) Copyright 2011 by the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (U.S.A). All rights reserved. No part of these data may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, published, stored in an information retrieval system, posted to any online or ftp site, or otherwise communicated, in printed form or electronically, without the express written permission of the AAVSO.

Dear Colleague letter from the Director of the AAVSO

Dear Colleague,

The AAVSO International Database is a precious resource for the science of variable star astronomy, and we hope your research will benefit greatly from the use of these data. The amateur and professional astronomers who have contributed data to the AAVSO over the last century did so hoping to make a positive contribution to variable star research, and it is our goal to facilitate the use of these data by the astronomical community. AAVSO data are and always will be provided free of charge upon request, as a service to the scientific community.

Our only requirements for the use of AAVSO data are simple:

First, please acknowledge the use of any and all AAVSO data used in publications with the appropriate acknowledgements we have provided on our webpage. If the data form the basis of your research, we ask that a representative of the AAVSO be included as an author; in exchange we will assist you in the analysis and interpretation of these data at a level appropriate for a coauthor. And please use the AAVSO facilities keyword in any journal publications.

Second, if you use our data in a publication, please let us know! We are thrilled to see the work of our observer community in print, and our observers are equally thrilled to see their work put to good use. The AAVSO has created the AAVSO In Print page for just this purpose. It shows the observers that their work is paying off, it showcases your hard work in using and analyzing AAVSO data, and it proves to the astronomical research community that the AAVSO continues to be a relevant and valuable resource for variable star astronomy. If your paper is accepted, in press, or published in a magazine, journal, or conference proceedings, please email us at aavso@aavso.org with the paper title, the authors, the year of publication, and the journal and reference information. If the paper appears on the arXiv.org preprint server, please include the URL for the abstract page.

We are very pleased to provide you with whatever data we have of interest to you. If our data prove valuable to your research, please let us know!

Sincerely,

Dr. Arne A. Henden, Director
American Assocation of Variable Star Observers