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What is the difference between a cooperator publication and a USGS Restricted-File Federal Interagency Report (RFFIR)? [188]

A cooperator publication with scientific contributions from USGS authors is released by the cooperator on a publicly accessible website and is citable. Conversely, RFFIRs are limited-use USGS publication series information products prepared by the USGS and provided as confidential communications only to other government or international entities, and are not citable. [Read more]

(Updated 12/04/24) 

A scientific information product published including a USGS author published within a cooperator’s report series is called a “cooperator publication” (as described in FAQ 047). A cooperator publication with scientific contributions from USGS authors, is released by the cooperator on a publicly accessible website and is a citable publication. Conversely, RFFIRs are limited-use USGS publication series information products (SM 1100.3) prepared by the USGS and provided as confidential communications only to other Federal Government agencies and foreign government or international entities for which USGS performs work. Unlike cooperator publications, RFFIRs are not citable information products because they are not published (refer to the RFFIR FAQs 146, 147, 149, 150, 151, and 152)

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