SDSS Data Access by Graduate Students and Postdocs

1. An undergraduate or graduate student at an SDSS Institution may have access to SDSS data as long as he or she is a student at an SDSS Institution and provided that a Participant at the institution sponsors him or her. The Sponsor shall be responsible for ensuring the student uses the SDSS data properly and abides by all Collaboration rules. The Sponsor shall inform the Spokesperson of his or her sponsorship of the student, the termination of the sponsorship when the student leaves or graduates, and the title and place of publication of the student's thesis if it involves SDSS data. The Sponsor may terminate his or her sponsorship at any time by informing the Spokesperson.

2. A postdoc at an SDSS Institution who does not have PI status, or is not employed full time to work on the SDSS, may have access to SDSS data if at least 50% of his or her salary is received from the Institution and if a Participant at that Institution agrees to sponsor him or her (see item 1 for the obligations of sponsorship).

3. An SDSS participant at a non-SDSS institution (hereafter external participant) may obtain access to SDSS data for up to 2 graduate students and up to 2 undergraduate students at any one time to work closely with the external participant on science key to his or her research. A reasonable number of additional students may work informally (i.e., with no authorship rights) with the external participant on SDSS projects key to his or her research. In either case, the procedures set out in item 1 above should be followed.

4. An external participant may obtain access to SDSS data for his or her postdoc(s), or for students beyond the limits set out in item 3 above, to work on a specific project with him or her by requesting permission to do so from the Collaboration Council. In general, the Collaboration Council will judge such requests by the same standards applied to requests for any non-Participant to work on a specific project (see the Procedures for Early Collaborative Use of SDSS Data with Non-Participants). Such requests can also be justified on the basis of significant contributions (typically greater than 0.5 yr FTE) that the student or postdoc makes to the survey's technical infrastructure, operations, or scientific infrastructure (i.e., development of common tools useful for scientific analyses by other SDSS participants for other SDSS science projects). Requests for External Collaborator status on this basis shall be made to the Spokesperson, and the decision will be made by the Management Committee. Such requests should clearly spell out the planned or achieved contributions to SDSS infrastructure. Once approved, a brief annual progress report must be sent to the Spokesperson detailing the student's or the postdoc's contributions to SDSS infrastructure. The Spokesperson will keep the Collaboration Council informed of such requests and arrangements.

Note: These rules apply to access to unpublished SDSS data only.