Mega-Analysis of Culture: Synergy of Network
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Updated: December 11, 2008
The Purpose
The goal of the mega-analytic project is to create a large representative dataset by pooling together data
collected by cross-cultural scholars around the world and collaboratively use the dataset to advance our
knowledge about culture and its effects. It is expected that the project will lead to numerous publications,
but the outcome of the project is absolutely uncertain and no guarantees can be made. The data will not be
used for any other purpose without consent of all concerned parties.
Participation and Co-Authorship
Anyone who has data that describes culture of individuals, groups, or regions is welcome to participate in
the project. Special arrangements can be made for scholars who have no such data but are interested in
contributing to the project by providing their insights and support with data management and analysis,
theory, and paper development.
Shared data ownership
If data contributed to the mega-analytic project had been collected by multiple individuals and/or were used
in multi-author publications, it is expected that the scholars who contribute the data have the consent of
their colleagues who were involved in the data collection to participate in the mega-analytic project. If the
data are contributed on behalf a group of scholars who were involved in collecting the data, the individual
(s) representing the team provide the names of their collaborators that should be acknowledged as co-
authors in resulting mega-analytic publications.
Lead Authors and Author Order
Everyone who contributes data to the mega-analytic database will be listed as a co-author on every
resulting publication that is based in part on this particular data contribution, unless otherwise requested.
The author order on each publication will be determined by individual input and effort, with the leading author
(s) being the one(s) most actively involved in theory development, data analysis, and paper write-up. We
expect that each publication will have one or a few lead authors who were closely involved in development
of the paper followed by the alphabetical list of the other scholars as co-authors of the paper.
Once the initial pool of data is merged, regular updates about the mega-analytic dataset will be sent to each
project collaborator with an invitation for ideas for input for scholarly publications. Anyone is welcome to put
forth a suggestion for a specific paper and take on a leading role in developing that paper. Every attempt will
be made to resolve cases when several scholars are interested in developing a paper on the same issue in
a professional and collegial manner. If multiple scholars are interested in leading development of a particular
paper, a collaborative solution would be preferred and encouraged (two or three lead authors). If no
collaborative solution is possible, the scholar who put the idea forth first will be given a priority.
Updates about the available data in the mega-analytic dataset will sent to all project collaborators on a
regular basis. Any project collaborator interested in taking on a lead role in developing a paper based on the
available data should contact the project coordinator with a brief paper proposal. The information will be
forwarded to all project collaborators with an invitation for input. If there is more than one person interested
in working on the paper, the interested parties are expected to decide on their roles and responsibilities in a
professional and collegial manner.
The lead authors of a proposed paper will be given a copy of the part of the mega-analytic dataset needed
for developing the paper. The project collaborators whose data are expected to be used will be informed
about the initiative and their prospective co-authorship on the resulting paper. If no concerns are raised, the
corresponding data contributors will be asked to sign a Data Release Form that give the lead authors the
right to work on the paper autonomously. The lead authors, however, are strongly encouraged to inform all
involved parties about their progress regularly.
To ensure that the lead author’s effort is not wasted, the data contributors cannot withdraw their data or
obstruct the paper development and its publication in any way once the Data Release Form has been signed.
Data sharing
Following advice of several scholars who are experienced in leading multi-author cross-cultural research
projects, it has been decided to impose some restrictions on how the mega-analytic dataset is shared
among project collaborators. To prevent unauthorized data use, a single electronic copy of the mega-
analytic dataset will be stored at the computer (backed up regularly on an external hard drive) of the project
coordinator. The parts of the pooled dataset needed for developing a particular paper will be made available
to the lead author(s) of that paper, with an understanding that the data will not be used for any other
purpose and will be deleted once the paper is completed, as well as that the lead author(s) of the paper will
properly acknowledge (list as co-authors) in every resulting publication everyone whose data were a part
of the mega-analytic data subset used to develop the paper.
Other arrangements may be possible but require additional consultation with all involved parties.
The Purpose
The goal of the mega-analytic project is to create a large representative dataset by pooling together data
collected by cross-cultural scholars around the world and collaboratively use the dataset to advance our
knowledge about culture and its effects. It is expected that the project will lead to numerous publications,
but the outcome of the project is absolutely uncertain and no guarantees can be made. The data will not be
used for any other purpose without consent of all concerned parties.
Participation and Co-Authorship
Anyone who has data that describes culture of individuals, groups, or regions is welcome to participate in
the project. Special arrangements can be made for scholars who have no such data but are interested in
contributing to the project by providing their insights and support with data management and analysis,
theory, and paper development.
Shared data ownership
If data contributed to the mega-analytic project had been collected by multiple individuals and/or were used
in multi-author publications, it is expected that the scholars who contribute the data have the consent of
their colleagues who were involved in the data collection to participate in the mega-analytic project. If the
data are contributed on behalf a group of scholars who were involved in collecting the data, the individual
(s) representing the team provide the names of their collaborators that should be acknowledged as co-
authors in resulting mega-analytic publications.
Lead Authors and Author Order
Everyone who contributes data to the mega-analytic database will be listed as a co-author on every
resulting publication that is based in part on this particular data contribution, unless otherwise requested.
The author order on each publication will be determined by individual input and effort, with the leading author
(s) being the one(s) most actively involved in theory development, data analysis, and paper write-up. We
expect that each publication will have one or a few lead authors who were closely involved in development
of the paper followed by the alphabetical list of the other scholars as co-authors of the paper.
Once the initial pool of data is merged, regular updates about the mega-analytic dataset will be sent to each
project collaborator with an invitation for ideas for input for scholarly publications. Anyone is welcome to put
forth a suggestion for a specific paper and take on a leading role in developing that paper. Every attempt will
be made to resolve cases when several scholars are interested in developing a paper on the same issue in
a professional and collegial manner. If multiple scholars are interested in leading development of a particular
paper, a collaborative solution would be preferred and encouraged (two or three lead authors). If no
collaborative solution is possible, the scholar who put the idea forth first will be given a priority.
Updates about the available data in the mega-analytic dataset will sent to all project collaborators on a
regular basis. Any project collaborator interested in taking on a lead role in developing a paper based on the
available data should contact the project coordinator with a brief paper proposal. The information will be
forwarded to all project collaborators with an invitation for input. If there is more than one person interested
in working on the paper, the interested parties are expected to decide on their roles and responsibilities in a
professional and collegial manner.
The lead authors of a proposed paper will be given a copy of the part of the mega-analytic dataset needed
for developing the paper. The project collaborators whose data are expected to be used will be informed
about the initiative and their prospective co-authorship on the resulting paper. If no concerns are raised, the
corresponding data contributors will be asked to sign a Data Release Form that give the lead authors the
right to work on the paper autonomously. The lead authors, however, are strongly encouraged to inform all
involved parties about their progress regularly.
To ensure that the lead author’s effort is not wasted, the data contributors cannot withdraw their data or
obstruct the paper development and its publication in any way once the Data Release Form has been signed.
Data sharing
Following advice of several scholars who are experienced in leading multi-author cross-cultural research
projects, it has been decided to impose some restrictions on how the mega-analytic dataset is shared
among project collaborators. To prevent unauthorized data use, a single electronic copy of the mega-
analytic dataset will be stored at the computer (backed up regularly on an external hard drive) of the project
coordinator. The parts of the pooled dataset needed for developing a particular paper will be made available
to the lead author(s) of that paper, with an understanding that the data will not be used for any other
purpose and will be deleted once the paper is completed, as well as that the lead author(s) of the paper will
properly acknowledge (list as co-authors) in every resulting publication everyone whose data were a part
of the mega-analytic data subset used to develop the paper.
Other arrangements may be possible but require additional consultation with all involved parties.
