FracTracker Data Statement

A fundamental emphasis of FracTracker.org is to increase transparency of and access to data and information relating to unconventional oil and natural gas development. Toward this end, we adhere to the following principles:

• We respect data privacy
• We acknowledge a variety of goals by end users
• We collect, share, and utilize a continuum of data – from agency data sets to crowd-sourced data
• We strive to make the data we use in mapping and analysis easily available to our users via the data downloads section of our website

To help our users understand and evaluate the data on our site we provide open forums for comment and provide metadata – a systematic description of the dataset when used in our maps or analyses. Metadata addresses:

• Who is responsible for the original content
• What is included in the dataset and what abbreviations stand for
• When the events in the data took place
• Where the data features are located
• How the data may have been altered from the original, if at all

Finally, we believe in the concept of open data – that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, with as few restrictions as possible.

To that end, however, we do ask that you properly cite our site’s analyses, maps, and imagery, where applicable.

If your work will be published* and relies heavily on data we have collected and processed, we request to be listed as co-authors.

* We are always interested in collaborative research projects like these. Please inquire on how we can assist your research aims: info@fractracker.org.