Fundamental Science Practices Frequently Asked Questions

Information products outside the scope of the Publications Warehouse, such as abstracts, posters, presentations, data releases, and software releases, are not cataloged in the Publications Warehouse.

Full text information products published by the USGS, such as USGS series publications, are provided for download from the Publications Warehouse. The Publications Warehouse also provides links to cooperators' and external publishers’ websites that provide the full text of USGS-authored publications when the links are available. [Read more]

Data release information product records are not cataloged as standalone citation pages in the Publications Warehouse. The official catalog for USGS data releases is the USGS Science Data Catalog. However, links to data releases associated with a companion publication are added to the associated publication’s citation page in the Publications Warehouse. [Read more]

No, the Publications Warehouse only contains information products prepared by authors who were affiliated with the USGS when the work was performed. USGS authors can capture their entire body of work on their ORCID profiles. [Read more]

Data collected on behalf of the USGS or by using USGS funds belong to the USGS and not to the individual who collected the data. The DMP should specify data ownership, the data preservation responsibilities, and party responsible for providing the data to the public. [Read more]

All supporting digital research data approved for release for final accepted manuscripts or final publications must be freely available for public access at the same time as or before the official publication date, with some exceptions allowed. [Read more]

Cooperator publications are scientific information products funded and released by an external cooperator to which USGS authors contribute. Cooperator publications are prepared under formal collaborative agreements between the USGS and Federal, Tribal, State, local, academia or other parties. [Read more]

To comply with FSP, the requirements for release of the publication, and any associated data release, must be specified in a signed agreement between USGS and the cooperator, the publication must be reviewed and approved through the USGS Information Product Data System (IPDS), and be made available on a publicly accessible website by the cooperator. [Read more]

Cooperator publications are released on cooperator websites. Because the results of Federal Government scientific research must be made publicly available, these publications must be hosted on a publishing platform with continued persistent public accessibility. [Read more]

Editing and formatting requirements are applied to cooperator publications according to the cooperator’s publishing standards. Although cooperator publications are not required to follow the editorial requirements for USGS series publications, Bureau writing quality and standards must be met. [Read more]

Citations for cooperator publications may list USGS authors by individual names or by using the Bureau name (U.S. Geological Survey). In all cases, the citation must include the cooperator’s name as the publisher. For examples [Read more]

The cooperator determines use and placement of the trademarked USGS identifier or a text identification line (such as "Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey") based on their own visual identity/logo requirements. To acknowledge the Bureau’s contribution, USGS authors should request that USGS be prominently displayed. [Read more]

Although USGS does not require or assign DOIs for cooperator publications, assignment of DOIs is a best practice to ensure long term access to a product. If they have the capability to do so, cooperators should assign a DOI or other persistent link to the information product. [Read more]

The FSP requirements for release of USGS scientific data and software associated with scholarly publications also apply to cooperator publications. Data and software management, publishing, and curation responsibility should be specified in data management plans. [Read more]

Yes. If data collection for a cooperator publication is USGS-funded, a publicly accessible data release is required prior to or simultaneously with release of the associated cooperator publication. An acceptable digital repository for the data release should be identified in the data management plan or agreement. [Read more]

A cooperator publication with scientific contributions from USGS authors, may include new interpretive information and is publicly released. Conversely, a progress report from USGS to a cooperator may contain only previously published interpretive or non-interpretive information, but cannot present new interpretations or conclusions of scientific results. [Read more]

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]

Ensure the manuscript meets USGS standards for scientific quality, review, and approval in the USGS Information Product Data System (IPDS): at least 2 USGS-initiated rigorous peer reviews are obtained and reconciled; Bureau approval and final editing occur before the manuscript is in page proofs; the publishing and distribution location for the final publication are identified. [Read more]

A USGS-authored, peer reviewed, Bureau approved manuscript posted on a preprint server. [Read more]

An online repository where manuscripts are published, often preceding publication in another outlet. [Read more]

Yes, USGS scientists are allowed to post Bureau-approved manuscripts to preprint servers, but use of preprint servers is subject to approval by supervisor and science center director. [Read more]