ATLAS Data Management Plan

This information is provided to inform users of the data management policies of ATLAS. All proposals for funding to the Office of Science require a data management plan.

The Principal Investigator (PI) of any experiment performed at ATLAS is the owner of the data produced in his/her specific experiment. In this capacity, the PI is the main point of contact for all aspects of an experiment including data handling and storage, record keeping, etc. ATLAS Users who generate and store data from experiments on ATLAS-owned computers and data-storage systems are required to provide a copy of the data for storage at ANL for 3 years following the end of their measurement. After 3 years, the data may be removed from the ATLAS computers and data-storage systems. However, every effort will be made to contact the PI prior to data deletion. Data backup and copying utilities are available from the facility support staff to facilitate data transfer back to the home institutions of the PI. Formats for standard Argonne data acquisition systems are documented. Data may be released to other entities with the permission of the PI. The PI must maintain sufficient records for 3 years to allow the reanalysis or validation of the data. ATLAS recommends digital copies of critical records (including scans of logbooks or other non-digital material) be maintained at Argonne for the same five year period. The complexity and variety of ATLAS experiments make it extremely difficult for an individual not directly involved in an experiment to reliably independently reanalyze the data.

Researchers expecting to generate more than 2 Terabytes on a single experiment must request written approval in advance.

The primary research records of an experiment are publications in the open literature. PI’s are responsible to ensure that all research data displayed in publications resulting from the proposed research are accessible at the time of publication.