Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 168 / Tuesday, August 31, 2010 / Notices 53325 

Implementation Grant finalists an 

opportunity to assemble and submit a 

more detailed application. 

The notice providing information 

regarding the application process, 

funding criteria and eligibility 

requirements can be found using the 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development agency link on the 

Grants.gov/Find Web site at http:// 

www.grants.gov/search/agency.do. A 

link to Grants.gov is also available on 

the HUD Web site at http:// 

www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/ 

fundsavail.cfm. The Catalogue of 

Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) 

number for the Choice Neighborhood 

Initiative Program is 14.889. 

Applications must be submitted 

electronically through Grants.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions regarding specific program 

requirements should be directed to the 

agency contact identified in the program 

NOFA. Questions regarding the 2010 

General Section should be directed to 

the Office of Departmental Grants 

Management and Oversight at 202–708– 

0667 (this is not a toll-free number) or 

the NOFA Information Center at 1–800– 

HUD–8929 (toll-free). Persons with 

hearing or speech impairments may 

access these numbers via TTY by calling 

the Federal Information Relay Service at 

1–800–877–8339. 

Dated: August 26, 2010. 

Barbara S. Dorf, 

Director, Office of Departmental Grants, 

Management and Oversight, Office of the 

Chief of the Human Capital Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21734 Filed 8–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

Proposed Scientific Integrity Policy of 

the Department of the Interior 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the Department of the 

Interior, are proposing and seeking 

comment on a Department-wide policy 

to ensure the integrity of scientific 

activities in the Department. 

DATES: Submit comments by September 

20, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: 

DOI_Science_Integrity@ios.doi.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alan D. Thornhill, 1849 C Street, NW., 

MS 5428, Washington, DC 20240–0002, 

202–208–6249. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In his 

March 9, 2009, memorandum on 

Scientific Integrity, the President states 

that, ‘‘Each agency should adopt * * * 

procedures * * * to ensure the integrity 

of scientific and technological 

information and processes on which the 

agency relies in its decision making or 

otherwise uses or prepares.’’ Interior has 

developed draft policies and standards 

for ensuring accuracy and integrity in 

all scientific activities conducted in the 

Department. After public comment, 

revision, and approval, we plan to 

incorporate these procedures into the 

Department Manual. 

You may submit comments on any 

part of these proposed procedures by email, letter, or in person at the address 

in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

The Department of the Interior 

proposes the following procedures for 

ensuring scientific integrity as a new 

chapter in the Department Manual: 

3.1 Purpose 

A. This chapter establishes: 

(1) A Departmental policy on integrity of 

scientific activities and a code of scientific 

conduct; 

(2) Ethical standards for Department of the 

Interior (DOI) employees who conduct or 

supervise scientific activities for the 

Department, or who compile and translate 

scientific information into formats used by 

the Departmental management; and 

(3) A process for initial handling of 

violations of the scientific conduct code. 

B. Administrative rules and laws 

pertaining to activities such as falsification of 

government formats, sexual harassment, civil 

rights, acceptance of gifts, nepotism, 

disclosure of financial interest, conflict of 

interest or outside employment are neither 

altered nor superseded by the existence of 

this chapter. 

3.2 Scope 

This chapter applies to: 

A. All employees and contractors who 

engage in scientific activities; and 

B. All volunteers who assist with scientific 

activities. (Volunteers are required to provide 

unbiased and objective information to their 

supervisors. All information collected by a 

volunteer is considered provisional until 

verified by the supervisor or other designee.) 

3.3 Policy on Integrity of Scientific 

Activities 

The Department: 

A. Is dedicated to preserving the integrity 

of scientific activities conducted on its behalf 

and will not tolerate misconduct in the 

performance of scientific activities; 

B. Will take appropriate action to protect 

the public from the effects of inaccurate 

information produced through scientific 

activities; 

C. Will investigate, to the maximum extent 

of the law, each allegation of misconduct 

while ensuring the rights and privacy of any 

party against whom the allegation is made. 

D. Will take appropriate disciplinary 

action, which may include termination of 

employment, in accordance with DOI 

personnel policies for non-compliance with 

the Code of Scientific Conduct in section 3.4. 

3.4 Code of Scientific Conduct 

Each person covered by section 3.2 must 

adhere to the following code of scientific 

conduct: 

To the best of my ability I will do all of 

the following: 

• I will act in the interest of the 

advancement of science and contribute the 

best, highest quality scientific information for 

the Department of the Interior. 

• I will conduct, process data from, and 

communicate the results of scientific 

activities honestly, objectively, thoroughly, 

and expeditiously. 

• I will be responsible for the resources 

entrusted to me, including equipment, funds, 

my time, and my employees’ time. I will 

promptly and accurately collect, use, and 

report all financial resources under my 

control; and promptly, thoroughly, and 

accurately report all scientific work. 

• I will fully disclose all research methods 

used, available data, and final reports and 

publications consistent with applicable laws 

and policy. 

• I will respect, to the fullest extent 

permitted by law, confidential and 

proprietary information provided by 

communities, Indian Tribes, and individuals 

whose interests and resources are studied or 

affected by scientific activities or the 

resulting information. 

• I will neither hinder the scientific 

activities of others nor engage in dishonesty, 

fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, coercive 

manipulation, or other scientific or research 

misconduct. 

• I will welcome constructive criticism of 

my scientific activities, will welcome and 

participate in appropriate peer reviews, and 

will critique others’ work respectfully and 

objectively. I will substantiate comments that 

I make with the same care with which I 

report my own work. 

• I will be diligent in creating, using, 

preserving, documenting, and maintaining 

collections and data. I will adhere to 

established quality assurance and quality 

control programs. I will follow the 

Department’s records retention policies and 

comply with Federal law and agreements 

related to use, security, and release of 

confidential and proprietary data. 

• I will adhere to appropriate standards for 

reporting the results of scientific activities 

and will respect the intellectual property 

rights of others. 

• I will, to the extent possible and 

practical, differentiate among facts, opinions, 


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hypotheses, and professional judgment in 

reporting the results of scientific activities to 

others, including scientists, decision makers, 

and the public. 

• I will be responsible for the quality of 

any data I collect or any interpretations I 

make, and for the integrity of conclusions I 

draw in the course of my scientific activities. 

• I will place quality and objectivity of 

scientific activities and reporting of their 

results ahead of personal gain or allegiance 

to individuals or organizations. 

3.5 Employee Responsibilities 

A. All employees must comply with: 

(1) The Federal Policy for the Protection of 

Human Subjects, published at 56 FR 28012– 

28018 (June 18, 1991); 

(2) The Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Employees of the Executive Branch in 5 CFR 

2635; and 

(3) All Federal statutes, Executive Orders, 

Presidential Memoranda, Office of 

Government Ethics and Office of Personnel 

Management regulations, and Departmental 

regulations and policies (as required by 43 

CFR 20.501 and 20.502). 

B. All employees must immediately report 

through official channels or directly to the 

Office of Inspector General (OIG): 

(1) Any known, suspected, or alleged 

fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement 

affecting the Department; and 

(2) Any serious integrity matter that affects 

the integrity of the Department. 

C. Employees who engage in scientific 

activities must comply with the Code 

contained in section 3.4. 

D. Employees who are involved in the 

conduct and reporting of scientific activities 

must comply with the Federal Policy on 

Research Misconduct, published at 65 FR 

76260–76264 (December 6, 2000). 

3.6 Bureau and Office Responsibilities 

Each bureau and office must: 

A. Establish procedures to ensure 

adherence to the requirements of this 

chapter; and 

B. When investigating allegations of 

misconduct under this chapter, ensure that 

investigators have adequate scientific 

expertise, provide for due process, and be 

consistent with the Federal Policy on 

Research Misconduct. 

3.7 Legal Effects of This Chapter 

This chapter: 

A. Is intended to improve the internal 

management of the Department of the 

Interior; 

B. Does not create any right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable by law 

by any person against the United States, its 

agencies, its officers or employees, or any 

other person; and 

C. Does not replace the Standards of 

Ethical Conduct at 5 CFR 2635 and other 

relevant ethical obligations of Department of 

the Interior scientists. 

3.8 Allegations of Misconduct 

A. Establishing a Finding of Scientific 

Misconduct 

Before taking disciplinary action under this 

section, a supervisor must establish a finding 

of scientific misconduct. A finding of 

scientific misconduct requires that: 

(1) There is a notable departure from 

accepted practices of the scientific 

community for maintaining the integrity of 

the scientific or research record; 

(2) The misconduct is committed 

intentionally, knowingly, or in reckless 

disregard of accepted practices; and 

(3) The allegation is established by a 

preponderance of evidence. 

B. Disciplinary Action 

(1) Once a supervisor has verified an 

employee’s misconduct under section 3.8A, 

the supervisor will administer disciplinary 

action in accordance with DOI personnel 

policies and using for guidance the 

Departmental Manual chapter on ‘‘Discipline 

and Adverse Actions’’ 370 DM 752. 

Supervisors should: 

(i) Select the penalty they believe 

necessary to correct the misconduct and to 

discourage repetition; and 

(ii) Evaluate each situation to ensure that 

the actions proposed and taken are 

reasonable. 

(2) When there is a significant 

unauthorized departure from accepted 

practices, or repeated violations of a less 

serious nature, supervisors may propose and 

decide on appropriate penalties, including 

termination of employment. 

(i) If a supervisor is considering a formal 

disciplinary action, the supervisor must 

immediately consult the Human Resources 

office. 

(ii) The Human Resources office may 

consult with the Office of the Solicitor (SOL) 

on proposed disciplinary actions and must 

consult with SOL on all proposed 

disciplinary actions that are appealable to the 

Merit Systems Protection Board. 

(3) All responses to allegations of 

misconduct, from inquiry to confirmation to 

adjudication and appeal, must be consistent 

with the guidelines and principles in the 

Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, 

Departmental policy, and 370 DM 752. 

C. Appeal Rights 

For disciplinary actions up to and 

including a 14-day suspension, employees 

not covered by a collective bargaining 

agreement have the right to appeal through 

the Administrative Grievance Procedure. 

Employees covered by a collective bargaining 

agreement have the right to appeal through 

a Negotiated Grievance Procedure (NGP). For 

suspensions of more than 14 days, up to 

removal from Federal service, employees 

have the right to appeal to the Merit Systems 

Protection Board or through an applicable 

NGP (5 CFR 752). Neither temporary 

employees, probationary employees, 

contractors, nor volunteers have any appeal 

rights. 

3.9 Authorities 

A. Statutes and Regulations 

(1) 5 U.S.C. 301 allows the head of an 

executive department to prescribe regulations 

for the conduct of its employees. 

(2) 43 CFR 20.501 requires employees of 

the Department to comply with all Federal 

statutes, Executive Orders, Office of 

Government Ethics and Office of Personnel 

Management regulations, and Departmental 

regulations. 

(3) 43 CFR 20.502 states that employees are 

required to carry out the announced policies 

and programs of the Department. 

(4) 43 CFR 20.502(a) states that an 

employee is subject to appropriate 

disciplinary action if he or she fails to 

comply with any lawful regulations, orders, 

or policies. 

B. Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, 65 

FR 76260–76264, December 6, 2000 

C. Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 CFR 

2635 

3.10 Definitions 

A. Conflict of Interest 

Any financial or other interest which 

conflicts with the actions or judgments of an 

employee when conducting scientific 

activities because it: 

(1) Could significantly impair the 

employee’s objectivity; or 

(2) Could create an unfair competitive 

advantage for any person or organization. 

Department of the Interior scientists are 

also subject to conflict of interest and 

appearance of a lack of impartiality 

requirements at 18 U.S.C. 208 and 5 CFR 

2635 Subparts D and E. 

B. Decision Makers 

Departmental employees who: 

(1) Are not engaged in scientific activities; 

(2) Communicate, recommend, or decide 

policy or management; 

(3) Communicate, recommend, or decide 

expenditure of Departmental funds; and 

(4) Rely in part on scientific products, or 

on documents compiled and translated from 

scientific products, to ensure that agency 

actions are supported by evidence and have 

a rational basis, and are not arbitrary or 

capricious. 

During the conduct of Departmental 

business, decision makers may be involved 

in editing of documents for clarification of 

major points to aid decision making. Such 

editing is beyond the scope of this chapter. 

C. Employees Who Engage in Scientific 

Activities Are 

(1) Individuals who conduct or directly 

supervise scientific activities, including but 

not limited to proposing, performing, or 

reviewing research, or in reporting research 

results; and 

(2) Individuals who directly supervise or 

personally perform work involving the 

compilation and translation of scientific 

information into formats used by the 

Department’s decision makers. 

D. Fabrication 

Making up data or results and recording or 

reporting them. 

E. Falsification 

Manipulating research materials, 

equipment, or processes; or changing or 

omitting data or results such that the research 

is not accurately represented in the research 

record. 


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F. Plagiarism 

The appropriation of another person’s 

ideas, processes, results, or words without 

giving appropriate credit. 

G. Reporting 

Dissemination or disclosure of the results 

of scientific activities. Dissemination and 

disclosure may be oral or in any media, 

including print and digital media. 

H. Research 

All basic, applied, and demonstration 

research in all fields of science, engineering, 

and mathematics, including social, 

behavioral and economic research. 

I. Research Misconduct 

Fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in 

proposing, performing, or reviewing research, 

or in reporting research results. Research 

misconduct does not include honest error or 

differences of opinion. (This definition is 

quoted from The Federal Policy on Research 

Misconduct (65 FR 76260–76264).) 

J. Science 

Knowledge obtained and tested through 

use of the scientific method. Science may 

also include the observation and 

classification of facts with the goal of 

establishing verifiable knowledge derived 

through induction and hypothesis. 

K. Scientific Activities 

Activities involving inventorying, 

monitoring, experimentation, study, research, 

modeling, and scientific assessment. 

Scientific activities are conducted in a 

manner specified by standard protocols and 

procedures and include any of the physical, 

biological, or social sciences as well as 

engineering and mathematics that employ the 

scientific method. Inspections for regulatory 

compliance and resulting records are not 

included because they are covered by 

separate requirements. 

L. Scientific Assessment 

Evaluation of a body of scientific or 

technical knowledge which typically 

synthesizes multiple factual inputs, data, 

models, assumptions, and/or implies best 

professional judgment to bridge uncertainties 

in the available information. 

M. Scientific Method 

A method of research in which a problem 

is identified, relevant data are gathered, a 

hypothesis is formulated from these data, and 

the hypothesis is empirically tested. 

N. Scientific Misconduct 

Fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in 

proposing, performing or reviewing scientific 

activities and their products. 

O. Scientific Product presents the results of 

scientific activities including the synthesis, 

compilation, or translation of scientific 

information into formats used in the 

Department’s decision-making process. 

Appendix 

Commentary to Explain and Clarify the 

Intent of the Basic Elements of the Code 

A. Scientific Excellence, Integrity, and 

Conflict of Interest. Honesty and integrity of 

Department employees subject to the Code 

are vital to the public interest and critical to 

conducting the Department’s mission. 

Scientific activities provide data to inform 

many of the Department’s decision-makers 

regarding the stewardship of our Nation’s 

land, energy, mineral, water, air, biological, 

and cultural resources. Employees subject to 

the Code must avoid conflicts of interest that 

occur when personal interest or gain 

interferes with or could be construed to 

interfere with the objectivity of their actions 

or judgments. They are obligated to be 

thorough in documenting their work to 

ensure that the details of their methods are 

described adequately enough to allow other 

scientists to critically evaluate or reproduce 

their results. They will use the best available 

and practicable practices, protocols, 

methodologies and technologies available to 

them when conducting scientific activities as 

well as in the review, use and dissemination 

of scientific information. This Code does not 

suggest that it is unethical to use novel 

investigative approaches, employ unusual 

methods of analysis, exclude data known to 

be faulty for identifiable material reasons, or 

interpret data in a new or unique way. 

However, novel methods and data 

modifications should be fully documented in 

the research record to avoid 

misinterpretation of any such departure from 

standard protocols or methodology. 

B. Abuse of Resources. Department 

employees subject to the Code will ensure 

appropriate use of resources in the conduct 

of scientific activities, including equipment, 

funding, staff time, information resources, 

and any privately owned or Federal property 

through the awareness of the requirements of 

applicable laws and regulations. Most 

importantly, employees will use resources 

wisely, efficiently, respectfully, and prevent 

abuse of cultural and natural resources 

during the conduct of scientific activities. 

Employees must strive to select methods and 

materials that, to the best of current 

knowledge, minimize or eliminate adverse 

impacts to cultural or natural resources or 

their future examination, scientific 

investigation, treatment or function. 

Professional standards for non-invasive or 

non-destructive testing/sampling will be 

followed when studying cultural materials. 

Animals used for research purposes are 

public resources, and employees will obey 

public laws concerning treatment of 

laboratory animals. Public Law (Pub. L. 99– 

198), The Food Security Act of 1985, and 

Federal regulation (9 CFR Part 3) primarily 

apply to treatment of laboratory animals. 

Scientists should follow public laws 

(including Pub. L. 99–108, as applicable) and 

regulations for activities involving animals in 

the wild and should consider, where 

appropriate, guidelines regarding treatment 

of wild animals published by professional 

wildlife or scientific societies. 

C. Research Involving Human Subjects. 

(1) Department employees subject to the 

Code conduct scientific activities among 

groups, including but not limited to hikers, 

campers, hunters and anglers, present-day 

ethnic or occupational communities, and 

Indian Tribes. These consultations must meet 

compliance requirements for planning, the 

Native American Graves Protection and 

Repatriation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101–601), 

historic preservation, and subsistence uses. 

Such persons involved in scientific activities 

must be treated with professionalism and 

respect. To this end, the Department adopted 

the common rule published as Federal Policy 

for the Protection of Human Subjects (56 FR 

28012–28018, June 18, 1991). Exempted from 

this rule is human subjects research 

involving the use of educational tests, survey 

procedures, interview procedures or 

observation of public behavior unless the 

information obtained is recorded in such a 

manner that human subjects can be 

identified, and/or disclosure could place 

subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability. 

Many information collections are regulated 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(5 CFR 1320), and applicable Departmental 

procedures should be followed (381 DM 11, 

12). Exempted from this rule is observation 

of human public behavior that involves no 

data collection from subjects. 

(2) Before initiating new scientific 

activities with any group, Department 

employees subject to the Code should be 

familiar with the laws, regulations, and 

policies (including those that are bureauspecific) governing privacy and freedom of 

information, ethnographic research 

guidelines, and types of release and consent 

forms, as provided information might not be 

protected from release. Department 

employees will ensure that the research 

methods are made clear to participants, that 

permission is obtained to use interview 

materials, tapes, photographs, maps and any 

other materials, and that participants know 

the legal limits of confidentiality. 

D. Hindering scientific and information 

gathering activities; failing to protect 

proprietary and confidential information; 

engaging in dishonesty, fraud, deceit, 

misrepresentation; or engaging in or 

knowingly permitting other scientific, 

research, or professional misconduct. 

(1) Inappropriately hindering scientific 

activities by Departmental employees subject 

to the Code is not tolerated by the 

Department. This includes actions such as 

biased review of scientific proposals or 

manuscripts; physical disruption of another 

scientist’s experiments, field surveys, or 

database; denial of reasonable access to 

resources or data needed by other scientists 

to perform their work; or failure to provide 

information that other Departmental 

employees need to duplicate scientific 

activities or verify their accuracy. Scientific 

staff will allow management and others 

appropriate access to resources entrusted to 

them, unless doing so would violate legal, 

regulatory or policy restrictions, compromise 

the scientific validity of their activities or 

substantially interfere with their 

performance. Employees are expected to 

understand existing rules and guidelines 

regarding the need to make data gathered 

with Federal dollars accessible. Reasonable 

judgments to delay public access depend 

upon individual circumstances when 

premature release would compromise 

validity or decision-making ability. 

Specifically, this applies to work in progress 

where data have not gone through a planned 


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53328 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 168 / Tuesday, August 31, 2010 / Notices 

quality control/quality assurance protocol 

that is part of the research design. Therefore, 

this Code does not attempt to provide 

universal guidelines for making such case-bycase determinations. 

(2) Requirements related to use, security 

and release of proprietary data are sometimes 

covered by law, regulation or policy and may 

be established through an agreement with the 

originator of the data. These agreements are 

usually established on a case by case basis. 

Employees will adhere to these agreements to 

the extent permitted by law, or policy. The 

Code prohibits denying other scientists 

reasonable access to published scientific 

information for the purpose of enhancing 

one’s interests. 

(3) Falsification and fabrication of data and 

results by Departmental employees are not 

tolerated by the Department and would be a 

violation of the Code by employees subject to 

it. 

E. Participating in Review Processes and 

Offering Fair and Objective Opinions. 

(1) Peer review is an important element in 

the creation and use of scientific information. 

In all cases, external (to the Department) 

scientific review of scientific activities, 

information, inventory or monitoring data to 

be published or used in decision-making is 

beneficial and, in some cases, it is essential. 

All employees subject to the Code must 

know, understand and adhere to 

Departmental and bureau specific guidelines 

related to peer review of scientific activities. 

Open and honest debate is essential for the 

advancement of science, and peer review is 

an important part of that debate. The peerreview process should be free of personal and 

professional jealousies, competitions, nonscientific disagreements, and conflicts of 

interest. 

(2) Reviewers should focus on the logical 

and scientific validity of the research 

findings, rather than personal feelings, or 

interactions (past or current) between the 

reviewer and the author/investigator. 

Authors/investigators should address 

reviewers’ comments in a thorough manner, 

and should document appropriately how 

they responded to those comments. It is the 

responsibility of prospective reviewers to 

disqualify themselves, if the review cannot 

be done in an objective manner (5 CFR 

2635.502). Reviewers should not instigate 

changes to any scientific study by its authors 

through intimidation, either implied or 

stated. Reviewers should document in 

writing all changes made to the manuscripts 

or proposals to conduct scientific studies in 

writing. 

F. Integrity in the Collection and 

Preservation of Data. 

(1) Quality control and assurance, 

including protocols, standards, and 

methodologies, should be routinely 

established for activities pertaining to the 

conduct of scientific inquiry and the 

collection of data. Persons engaged in 

scientific activities and their managers must 

know and follow established programs, 

protocols, standards, and methodologies for 

the activities they conduct to inform 

Departmental decisions. Preservation of 

collections and records created during the 

conduct of scientific activities is controlled 

by Federal law (44 U.S.C. chaps. 21, 29, 31, 

and 33) and Departmental regulations and 

policies (36 CFR 1228.1–1228.282; 381 DM 

11, 12; 384 DM 2, 3, and 4) and bureau 

regulations and policies. This is important 

for substantiating scientific activities and 

supporting subsequent decisions that are 

influenced by the results. Employees subject 

to this Code must follow these laws, 

regulations and policies. Collections made 

for retention include, but are not limited to, 

cultural objects in archeological collections 

and non-cultural biological, geological, and 

paleontological samples. 

(2) Documents that should be retained for 

the scientific record vary according to the 

nature of the study and include: study plans; 

methodology; primary data, such as 

laboratory notebooks, original data, metadata, 

and quality assurance/quality control 

information; and formal data sets, analyses 

and products. These items may be in any 

medium, including printed and electronic 

media. Failure to retain data in accordance 

with law, regulations and policy is not 

tolerated by the Department. 

G. Responsible Authorship and 

Dissemination of Information. 

(1) Authorship of a scientific product must 

be based on a major intellectual contribution 

(as part of conception, design, data 

collection, data analysis, or interpretation) 

and a significant contribution to its 

preparation (writing, reviewing, or editing). 

Authorship includes the responsibility for 

ensuring that the work reported meets 

scientific criteria and ethical standards. 

Conferring authorship to individuals engaged 

in scientific activities without their 

knowledge or consent is strictly prohibited 

by the Code. 

(2) Scientific knowledge is cumulative and 

is built on the contributions of numerous 

scientists over many years. Recognition of 

other contributors often takes the form of 

credits in a publication through an 

acknowledgment or citation. However, only 

authors whose substantive comments have 

been received and incorporated prior to 

submission should be listed in 

acknowledgments. Authors will cite or 

acknowledge any scientific work or the 

source of any idea that is not regarded as 

common knowledge among specialists in the 

particular field and that substantially 

contributes to a scientific activity and its 

interpretation and result. The Code prohibits 

plagiarism or theft of ideas, data or 

unpublished findings. Departmental 

employees subject to this Code will 

acknowledge and, to the extent permitted by 

law, protect the intellectual efforts of others 

and the confidentiality of information 

provided by human subjects. However, when 

Departmental employees are preparing 

documents required by the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the 

considerations in this paragraph are in 

conflict with the regulations and guidance of 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

regarding the publication of information 

under NEPA, the regulations and guidance of 

the Council shall govern. 

(3) Duplicative publication is not tolerated 

by the Department. This does not suggest that 

it is inappropriate to publish more than one 

manuscript based on a single scientific 

activity. In some cases, the same scientific 

activity may be of interest to separate 

audiences having different technical 

specialties or to journals having different 

readerships. Prior publication of portions of 

an original idea should always be referenced 

in later publications. Publishing parts of 

another paper, or publishing another paper 

with only minor changes, should only be 

done to reach different or larger audiences 

and with the knowledge and consent of the 

publisher. Employees subject to the Code 

will accept professional responsibility 

associated with authorship and know that the 

interpretation and results of their work are 

used to inform important decisions in the 

public interest. Repetitive publication of 

findings in popular literature does not 

constitute duplicative publication. 

(4) In order to ensure that the Department’s 

decision making is based on the best 

available science, the Code requires a 

scientific product to be subject to the 

required level of review. Public release of a 

scientific product without the required level 

of review or without the inclusion of 

appropriate disclaimers could be considered 

misconduct. 

(5) Additionally, in support of the 

Department’s interest in protecting its 

decision making, the Code prohibits 

changing conclusions, deletion of data, or 

knowingly omitting data from reports and 

testimony for purposes of misrepresentation 

or manipulation. At the same time, the Code 

prohibits suppressing data collection, 

scientific studies, or publication of results by 

scientists or their supervisors for the purpose 

of manipulating Departmental decisions. 

These actions are not tolerated by the 

Department. They are violations of the 

Federal Policy on Research Misconduct 

because they wrongly characterize results 

and manipulate results so that research is not 

accurately represented. Scientific 

conclusions may only be changed in light of 

new data or new analyses. Scientists should 

not succumb to coercion to change data. If an 

employee subject to the Code believes that he 

or she has been subjected to coercion, it 

should be reported immediately to the 

respective supervisor, bureau, or 

Departmental ethics program. 

Laura Davis, 

Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21591 Filed 8–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS-R9-IA-2010-N188; 96300-1671-0000- 

P5] 

Proposed Information Collection; OMB 

Control Number 1018-0093; Federal 

Fish and Wildlife License/Permit 

Applications, Management Authority 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES