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TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1875 SUBJECT: GRB: Non-Referencing of GCN Circulars. DATE: 03/02/21 17:44:40 GMT FROM: Krzysztof Z. Stanek at CfA <kstanek@cfa.harvard.edu> Non-Referencing of GCN Circulars. Dear GRB community, There have been a number of recent astro-ph papers, specifically on GRB 021004 and GRB 021211 (I would be happy to say which ones by e-mail), using phrase "data reported in GCN Circulars" or something like that, without specifying which Circulars etc. It is amazing to me that this has to be even written about, but somehow many members of the GRB community seem not to be aware of one of the rules of the scientific conduct, which can be summarized very simply: "If you use somebody's data, you have to indicate the source" for two obvious reasons: 1) People might want to know what data you use; 2) Authors of the GCNs from which the data were taken would probably like to get credit for their research; Simply stated, if you use somebody's data, you have to cite the source, and there are no excuses for not doing that, such as page limits etc. Using data without citing the source is unethical, and there is no difference between the GCNs and "real" papers in this regard: nobody would use a phrase "data reported in astronomical papers". Moreover, such a behavior will quickly result in demise of the GCN system, which so far has been working great. Simply put, if the observers do not get credit for their work, they will not publish GCNs. We are all working fast and hard in this business, but this is not an excuse for sloppiness or negligence. You are welcome to write me on this subject, although I do not think there is much to discuss. Kris Stanek
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