Publications

POSSUM Policy on Publications and Public Dissemination


The POSSUM publication policy has been adapted from the MWA publication policy. The POSSUM Publication policy covers the publication or presentation of any results, technical papers, software descriptions, scientific data, system description papers and all publications relating to or utilising data from the POSSUM survey. Exceptions to the process described below may be granted in three cases: an identified need for rapid publication, for a talk or poster, or for a publication in which the POSSUM-related aspect is minor and not the main focus of the paper - see Section 6 below for details.

See also CSIRO's ASKAP publication policy.

  1. Definition of a POSSUM Publication:
    • A POSSUM Publication is defined as any journal/proceedings paper, talk, poster, popular article, or other publicly available document that has been derived from data, algorithms, software, hardware, expertise or other intellectual property associated with the POSSUM survey, in cases where the data, information or contributions are not public at the time that a Publication Proposal (see below) is submitted and for which these results or materials have not been previously published elsewhere.
    • The POSSUM Publication policy applies to Publications derived from POSSUM Early Science and from the full POSSUM survey.
    • If the tasks required to produce a Publication commence while the relevant data, information or contributions are still proprietary, then that Publication will be considered a POSSUM Publication even if the Publication is not completed until after these data, information or contributions have been released into the public domain.
    • If the tasks required to produce a Publication commence after the relevant data, information or contributions have been released into the public domain, then that Publication will not be considered a POSSUM Publication.
    • A POSSUM Publication will normally result from a previously approved POSSUM Project.
    • This policy does not apply to Publications that describe the design of third-party (non-CSIRO) hardware, software or firmware that is designed for use in conjunction with POSSUM.
  2. Authors of all POSSUM Publications must follow the guidelines on the ATNF Publications webpage, and must also follow all relevant policies imposed by other relevant projects and collaborations.
  3. All POSSUM Publications must be associated with a Principal Contact for that Publication, who must be a current member of POSSUM and must not be a student.
  4. In cases where a POSSUM Publication has a defined list of authors, the Principal Contact will be responsible for deciding the author list and author ordering subject to the following conditions and procedures:
    • A Publication Proposal for a POSSUM Publication (as described below) must include a proposed author list and author ordering;
    • Authorship requires that you have read the paper, agree to its contents, and agree to its submission for publication.
    • POSSUM papers have (at least) two classes of authors: core authors (who contributed directly to the development of the paper) and POSSUM Builders (who can opt in before submission to a journal). Core authorship is decided by the lead author. The Builders List is mandatory for refereed output via journal articles, but is not required for non-refereed output such as conference proceedings or posters.
    • Any individuals who are identified as POSSUM Builders at the time a Proposal is made can opt in as authors on a refereed POSSUM Publication. Builders opt in by emailing the Principal Contact, requesting authorship, and including a statement confirming that they have read the paper. Comments on the draft may be provided but are not required. Such requests must be made no later than two weeks after a Publication is circulated for Collaboration Review (see below). Builders should normally be listed at the end of the author list, in alphabetical order by surname.
    • Any other members of POSSUM who are not on the proposed author list may request authorship on a POSSUM Publication. Such a request must be made to the Principal Contact no later than one week after a Publication is circulated for Collaboration Review (see below), and must be accompanied by a brief justification. The Principal Contact must respond to such requests within one week of receipt;
    • Anyone on the proposed author list may withdraw from the Publication at any time before submission/completion by notifying the Principal Contact of this intention;
    • If the Principal Contact includes in the author list of the Proposal any person who is not a current member of POSSUM, the POSSUM PIs may require justification for this person to be included as an author on the Publication. The Principal Contact must respond to such requests within two weeks of receipt;
    • If the POSSUM PIs decide that a former POSSUM member has made contributions that warrant authorship, they may request that the Principal Contact offer co-authorship to that individual.
    • When a POSSUM Publication reaches Final Review (see below), the Publication must include or be accompanied by a final ordered list of authors.
  5. The following sequence of review procedures must be followed for all POSSUM Publications, with the exception of the situations described in item 6 below:
    • Internal approval: The Principal Contact must meet any publication requirements set by CSIRO, as per CSIRO's ASKAP publication policy or otherwise.
    • Publication Proposal: As soon as writing of the paper commences, the Principal Contact must distribute a Publication Proposal to the entire POSSUM collaboration using the Publication Proposal Form. This Publication Proposal must summarise the title and content of the proposed Publication, provide information on where and when the Publication is to appear, identify any deadlines for submission, and include a proposed list of authors (see item 4 above). If a Publication Proposal does not correspond to a currently active POSSUM Project, a justification for the Publication should be provided. A list of current and expired Publication Proposals is available at this link.
    • Collaboration Review: Once the Principal Contact is of the opinion that a Publication is ready for submission/completion, the Principal Contact must contact the entire POSSUM collaboration (and for refereed publications, the Builders LIst), via the Publication Review Form, announcing that the Publication is ready for “Collaboration Review”. Members of POSSUM and POSSUM Builders, whether authors on the paper or not, must be given a minimum of three weeks to raise any issues they may have about the Publication and to work with the Principal Contact and the POSSUM PIs to resolve these issues. Respondents should pass all substantial commentary about POSSUM Publications to both the Principal Contact and the POSSUM PIs.
    • Final Review: After all issues raised during the Collaboration Review have been resolved to the satisfaction of both the Principal Contact and the POSSUM PIs, the Principal Contact must again notify the entire POSSUM Collaboration and (for refereed Publications) Builders List via the Publication Review Form, announcing that the Publication is ready for Final Review (or if in the judgement of the POSSUM PIs a final review by the entire collaboration is not warranted, to notify the POSSUM collaboration and Builders List that the paper will now be submitted). In the case of proceeding to a Final Review, members of the POSSUM collaboration and POSSUM Builders, whether authors of the paper or not, must be given at least one week to provide final comments on the Publication. It is envisaged that only clear errors or minor corrections in the Publication should be raised during Final Review.
    • Submission: After any issues raised during the Final Review have been resolved to the satisfaction of both the Principal Contact and the POSSUM PIs, the Principal Contact may submit/deliver/present the Publication. Once the Publication is submitted/delivered/presented, the Proposer should circulate the submitted version to all POSSUM members and Builders by email, and post a link on the POSSUM Publications page.
    • External Review: In cases where a Publication undergoes peer review, the Principal Contact must circulate the referee's report to authors of the Publication and to the POSSUM PIs as soon as it is received. The Principal Contact must then repeat the Collaboration Review and Final Review steps as above, but with communication required only amongst the authors of the Publication, and with a combined period of one week for Collaboration Review and Final Review.
    • Public Dissemination: The POSSUM PIs encourage POSSUM members to make POSSUM Publications publicly available when appropriate (e.g., through the arXiv preprint server). However, refereed Publications should not be made public until they have been accepted for publication. Any press releases on POSSUM Publications must be developed in coordination with and ultimately approved by the POSSUM PIs. Subject to these constraints, the Principal Contact is responsible for deciding on the timing and manner in which a Publication is disseminated to the broader community.
  6. Exceptions to the process described in the preceding items may be granted in three cases: an identified need for rapid publication, for a Publication that is a talk or a poster at a conference, or for a Publication in which the POSSUM contribution is minor and not the main focus of the paper. The proposed procedure for each of these respective cases is as follows:
    • To initiate the rapid publication process, the Principal Contact must make a request via the Publication Proposal Form, proposing an alternative process that compresses the time-line of item 5 while still ensuring appropriate involvement and consultation. The Publication process may proceed only once there is unanimous consensus from the Principal Contact and the POSSUM PIs on the proposed process. Preference will be given to Publications such as Astronomer’s Telegrams and GRB Coordinates Network circulars that allow for rapid release and dissemination; refereed articles that are merely timely should follow the standard procedures described in item 5. Apart from the need for rapid publication and dissemination, all other aspects of the POSSUM Publication Policy (e.g., author list, references, acknowledgements) should be followed to the extent possible.
    • For a talk or poster, the Principal Contact may skip directly to the Final Review stage above.
    • To request an exemption for papers in which the POSSUM contribution is minor and not the main focus of the paper, the Principal Contact must make a request the Publication Proposal Form outlining the paper, its authors, the nature of the POSSUM contribution(s) to be included in the paper, and why it should be exempt from the standard policy. The POSSUM PIs will endeavour to either approve the request or provide alternative options within one week of receipt. If approved, the contact should ensure that the POSSUM acknowledgement below is used in the Publication. Cases when a POSSUM contribution is minor and not the main focus of the paper might involve a small request involving proprietary POSSUM material (e.g., the polarised fraction of a single source), or a modest contribution of expertise, advice or effort from a POSSUM member but not using POSSUM software or data.
  7. The Principal Contact is responsible for paying and/or coordinating all page charges or publication costs associated with a POSSUM Publication. Any division of the page charges between co-authors must be established and agreed upon before Submission.
  8. The Principal Contact must notify the POSSUM PIs when a Publication is submitted, when it is accepted or approved, and (if applicable) when it is published. The Proposer will update the publication details in the POSSUM Publications list, except in cases where the POSSUM PIs decide that a Publication contains information of a sensitive or confidential nature.
  9. Where practical and appropriate, all POSSUM Publications must include a citation to the the standard POSSUM reference: Gaensler, B. M., Landecker, T. L., Taylor, A. R., POSSUM Collaboration, "Polarization Sky Survey of the Universe's Magnetism (POSSUM)", BAAS, 42, 515 (2010), and should also include the standard POSSUM acknowledgements as listed below.
  10. In the event of a dispute over publication, the decision of the POSSUM PIs will be final (see the POSSUM Code of Conduct for details).
  11. Withdrawal and Expiry of Publications
    • Any POSSUM Publication that has entered into the review procedures (Item 5) may be withdrawn from review at any time until it is published. To withdraw a Publication, the Principal Contact must notify the POSSUM PIs stating that the Publication is withdrawn.
    • In the event that a Publication that has entered into the review procedures (item 5) does not progress from its current review stage (e.g., from Proposal to Collaboration Review) for one year, the Publication will be considered expired and withdrawn from review. The Publication may be reinstated by the POSSUM PIs at any time. From the time that a Publication is reinstated, it will have one year to progress to the next review stage or it will be considered withdrawn and expired again.
    • If the Principal Contact ceases to be a POSSUM Member, the Publication remains active, and the above procedures should continue to be followed.
  12. All POSSUM Publications should contain the word "POSSUM" in the Publication title, and should contain the words "Polarisation Sky Survey of the Universe's Magnetism (POSSUM)" in any associated abstract.
  13. All POSSUM Publications should contain the following acknowledgements where practical and appropriate (partly drawn from the the acknowledgements required by CSIRO):


This scientific work uses data obtained from Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara / the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji People as the Traditional Owners and native title holders of the Observatory site. The Australian SKA Pathfinder is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility (https://ror.org/05qajvd42) which is managed by CSIRO. Operation of ASKAP is funded by the Australian Government with support from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. ASKAP uses the resources of the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. Establishment of ASKAP, the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory and the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre are initiatives of the Australian Government, with support from the Government of Western Australia and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund. The POSSUM project (https://possum-survey.org) has been made possible through funding from the Australian Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chairs Program, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.