Message-Id: <199601232005.UAA09533@mprcamnl.wr.usgs.gov>
To: "E  - All WRD Employees"<distribution@usgs.gov>
cc: "Margaret H Stockhill, Office Services Assistant, Menlo Park, CA" <mstockhl@usgs.gov>
Subject: WRD Policy on Acknowledgements of Survey Employees in Reports
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Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 12:05:45 -0800
From: "Margaret H Stockhill, Office Services Assistant, Menlo Park, CA" <mstockhl@usgs.gov>


(Note:  the following was drafted last year as a Water Resources Division 
numbered memorandum.  An executive decision was made, however, not to 
issue a WRD memorandum and to leave to the Regions whether or not to 
issue one.  We decided to send one, and here it is.)

                                                         January 23, 1996

 
                              MEMORANDUM

To:        All WRD employees, Western Region

From:	   T.J. Conomos
	   Regional Hydrologist, WRD, Western Region

Subject:   PUBLICATIONS--WRD Policy on Acknowledgments of Survey          
                         Employees in Reports


Few subjects are more controversial or laden with emotions than 
acknowledgments in our reports. The Survey, traditionally, has maintained 
a restrictive policy, which is stated in the Survey Manual (503.2.1) and 
explained in the seventh edition of Suggestions to Authors (p. 12-13) and 
the 1986 edition of the WRD Publications Guide (p. 248). Briefly 
summarized, the policy is that Survey employees should be acknowledged 
only for "special" assistance above and beyond the call of 
duty. The Survey Manual states that acknowledgment of the help of 
colleagues "should be strictly limited to those who have assisted the 
author in a capacity that would be just short of coauthorship."  This 
policy has been rather rigidly enforced within WRD.

Times do change, and so has the nature of our projects and reports. An 
increasing number of our projects are multidisciplinary, involving more 
scientists and support staff than in years past.  The philosophy of Total 
Quality Management stresses the importance of the team approach to 
project management and report preparation. All members of the project 
team contribute to the success of the report.  A report cannot be 
prepared and published without the help and input of many people 
other than the authors.  Accordingly it is only fitting that these people 
should be acknowledged and that WRD's interpretation of the Survey's 
policy be revised.  Such a revision will bring our practices more in line 
with what is prevalent in the scientific community. 

Among those who typically contribute to a report are:

	o Staff who participated in the planning of the project

	o Field personnel who collected and compiled the data

	o Technical reviewers of the report

	o Editors, editorial assistants, and illustrators who helped             
   prepare the report for publication

Effective with the receipt of this memorandum, the interpretation of 
Survey policy on acknowledgments is revised to allow acknowledgment of 
the foregoing individuals, as well as others who have made a substantial 
contribution to a report.  Care must be exercised in deciding 
who will be acknowledged.  One of the principal arguments used against a 
more liberal policy has been that if we acknowledge some, we must 
acknowledge all, and the whole process could easily get out of hand; thus 
we could end up with an acknowledgments section that resembles the 
District's telephone directory.  The policy will work only if 
acknowledgment is done thoughtfully and responsibly.

Traditionally, acknowledgments are given in a subsection if the 
Introduction.  If more than a few people are being acknowledged, an 
alternative would be to list them by categories on the Cover 2 
(inside front cover) page.  Such a listing might look like the following:

             CONTRIBUTING U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STAFF

TECHNICAL SUPPORT	        TECHNICAL REVIEWERS OR ADVISORS

****, Hydrologic Technician	***************, Water Quality Specialist
****, Hydrologic Technician	************** *,SupervisoryHydrologist
****, Hydrologic Technician	*******************, Hydrologist
			        **************, Hydrologist

	EDITORIAL, GRAPHICS, AND TEXT PREPARATION TEAM

	******************, Technical Publications Editor
	******************, Publications Graphics Specialist
	******************, Publications Graphics Specialist
	**************, Editorial Assistant
	******************, Typist

In summary, we believe that the newly interpreted policy will result in 
due recognition for the many individuals involved in producing our 
reports.  Such recognition will result in more enthusiastic participation 
and better morale.  But remember, use common sense and good judgment 
in deciding who gets recognized!