Re: Useful Research?

[jg <jg@jgws.freeisp.co.uk>]

Martin Nicholson wrote:

> For example you write
> 
> "I just sent out 26 copies of the data taken between 6 an 8 hrs at +7."
> 
> I would like to know:-
> 
> 1) In what format is the data - list of positions and magnitudes? - I
> might have read it somewhere but I honestly don't know what to expect if
> I asked for a copy.
> 
> 2) Readable on a PC using Windows or do I need Unix?

The data is ascii in fixed length records, but each line has the unix
end of line line feed convention instead of the dos EOL line feed +
carriage return convention.

Stuff included are full JD, johnson V and st dev thereon, Cousins I and
standard dev thereon, etc and also positon in decimal degrees to equinox
J2000.

Documentation is nigh on nil, but data format is usually evident from
reading the comments at the top of the PERL scripts (written in ascii)

You can read the data files into word for windows and do search on key
identifiers (there is a kind of running number on the "collected"
files).  If you've only windows you won't be able to get the perl
programs to run, but there is a humongous (240 Mb file) collected.big
file that is useable.

Basically, it's flat ascii and if you can get at flat ascii you're
laughing, but the size of the collected.big file is a bit of a bugger if
you can't get any of the perl stuff to work.
 
> I agree. However the type of person who likes collecting data might not
> have the skills to process it and the person who like processing it
> might not have the time or inclination to create scientific papers based
> on the results.

I hate referees.

You'd think they'd at least read the bloody paper before ripping it
apart ;)

(actually it was only one referee, and an insistance on our part led to
it being refereed by too others who passed it with glowing words...
...kinda weird).

Publishing is hard and long winded tedious work that takes time from
observing and/or analysing.

On the other hand, publishing is a fantastic way for one to find out
exactly how much one _really_ knows about the topic, and a good referee
will lead to you actually learning things and possibly even having
things that have always been a problem clarified.

For ideally referees should be knowledgeable in the field on which you
have written.  Ideally.

Cheers

John

John Greaves, Northampton, UK  (t'other end of the A45)