GAMA 9 Spectroscopic Merged Catalogue README - version 1.0

Description of columns:

Column 0, "RA":
The RA coordinates of the object targeted in degrees.

Column 1, "DEC":
The DEC coordinates of the object targeted in degrees.

Column 2, "Z_SPEC":
The spectroscopic redshift.

Column 3, "Z_SOURCE":
The source of the spectroscopic redshift, as the source of the redshift can be multiple surveys the source number can be a combination of the following values:
; SDSS - 1
; 6dFGS - 2
; 2SLAQ-QSO - 4
; 2SLAQ-LRG - 8
; GAMA-II in press - 16
; GAMA-fully public - 32
; 2dFGRS = 64
; SDSS-DR10 = 128   
; WIGGLEZ = 256 
To make this the redshifts have been prioritised in order of quality flags and the highest priority redshift is used. Generally SDSS DR10 is given first priority, unless there are certain flags, otherwise generally GAMA is used where available, and the other surveys are used as last priority and again selecting by quality flags. 

Column 4, "Z_QUAL":

The quality flag (Q) is designated using the method from Colless et al. (2001) method (as the GAMA database uses these values). The quality flag (Q), is ranked on a five-point scale, with the interpretation: Q = 1 means no redshift could be estimated; Q = 2 means a possible, but doubtful, redshift estimate; Q = 3 means a probable redshift (notionally 90 per cent confidence); Q = 4 means a reliable redshift (notionally 99 per cent confidence); Q = 5 means a reliable redshift and a high-quality spectrum. Note that this quality parameter is determined entirely by the subjective judgement of the user.

Column 5, "OBJID"

Object ID from the SDSS survey.

Information on selection functions/completness can be found in the seperate pdf document.