Federal Research
NASA Should Better Inform Researchers about How to Appeal Dissemination Decisions Gao ID: GAO-10-200 December 3, 2009National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) researchers generally disseminate their agency-funded research results through publications, presentations, agency releases, and media interviews. In 2007, GAO reviewed dissemination policies at NASA and two other agencies and found that NASA's policies were generally clear, but GAO's survey of NASA researchers raised concerns that many of them did not understand some of the policies and were generally unaware of how to appeal dissemination decisions. Congress in 2008 directed GAO to determine whether NASA is implementing its policies in a clear and consistent manner. To meet that requirement, GAO determined (1) what changes have been made to NASA's policies since 2007, (2) the views of NASA researchers on whether the policies have been more effectively communicated since 2007, and (3) what changes have occurred since 2007 in NASA's processes for researchers to follow if they wish to appeal decisions about the dissemination of their research results. GAO conducted a Web-based survey of all 2,790 NASA researchers and had a 57.5 percent response rate.
Since May 2007, NASA has changed some of its policies on the dissemination of research results through publications and presentations, but has not changed its policy on dissemination through news releases and media interviews, although it has made a key leadership change in its main public affairs office. Regarding its policies for dissemination through publications and presentations, in 2007 and 2009, NASA clarified the roles and responsibilities of officials who participate in the review and approval process that is required before agency-funded research is released. The changes also required managers to notify researchers when their requests to release research results have been approved or denied, and they required researchers to refrain from releasing results until they received approval. In contrast, although NASA has not made any changes to its policy that guides the dissemination of research through the media, in May 2007, it converted a key management position in the Headquarters Office of Public Affairs from a political appointment to a career civil service position. This was done to address allegations that an official in this office had suppressed climate change science and denied media access to scientists during 2004 and 2005. The change resulted from a management review conducted in early 2006 by NASA's leadership looking into these allegations. While the majority of researchers are familiar with the dissemination policies, GAO's survey indicates that in 2009, 87 percent of researchers were familiar with NASA's dissemination policies, compared with 92 percent in 2007, and slightly less were confident they understood the policies well enough to follow them for certain kinds of dissemination routes, such as publications, presentations, and agency releases. As in 2007, researchers continue to learn about the policies mainly through on-the-job training and e-mails from NASA officials. GAO's 2009 survey, like the 2007 survey, also indicates that researchers remain unclear about when they may discuss research results that have policy implications, including when they may discuss their own views, even though NASA has clarified its policy to allow researchers to do so as long as they do not attribute their views to the agency. Since 2007, NASA has not adopted any new procedures for appealing dissemination decisions. As in 2007, in 2009 relatively few NASA researchers were aware of and familiar with the agency's appeals process. Specifically, GAO's survey found that about one-third of NASA researchers were aware that the agency has a process to appeal decisions related to dissemination, but only about 8 percent said they were familiar with it. Fewer researchers in 2009 than in 2007 said they had sought to disseminate their research in the past 5 years (83 percent compared with 91 percent), and more researchers had their requests denied for other than technical reasons (12 percent in 2009 compared with 7 percent in 2007). Nonetheless, 85 percent of researchers continue to believe that the agency generally supports the dissemination of research results and that the agency's efforts to inform them about policies for all dissemination routes are generally effective.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director: Team: Phone:GAO-10-200, Federal Research: NASA Should Better Inform Researchers about How to Appeal Dissemination Decisions
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Report to Congressional Committees:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
December 2009:
Federal Research:
NASA Should Better Inform Researchers about How to Appeal Dissemination
Decisions:
GAO-10-200:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-10-200, a report to congressional committees.
Why GAO Did This Study:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) researchers
generally disseminate their agency-funded research results through
publications, presentations, agency releases, and media interviews. In
2007, GAO reviewed dissemination policies at NASA and two other
agencies and found that NASA‘s policies were generally clear, but GAO‘s
survey of NASA researchers raised concerns that many of them did not
understand some of the policies and were generally unaware of how to
appeal dissemination decisions. Congress in 2008 directed GAO to
determine whether NASA is implementing its policies in a clear and
consistent manner. To meet that requirement, GAO determined (1) what
changes have been made to NASA‘s policies since 2007, (2) the views of
NASA researchers on whether the policies have been more effectively
communicated since 2007, and (3) what changes have occurred since 2007
in NASA‘s processes for researchers to follow if they wish to appeal
decisions about the dissemination of their research results. GAO
conducted a Web-based survey of all 2,790 NASA researchers and had a
57.5 percent response rate.
What GAO Found:
Since May 2007, NASA has changed some of its policies on the
dissemination of research results through publications and
presentations, but has not changed its policy on dissemination through
news releases and media interviews, although it has made a key
leadership change in its main public affairs office. Regarding its
policies for dissemination through publications and presentations, in
2007 and 2009, NASA clarified the roles and responsibilities of
officials who participate in the review and approval process that is
required before agency-funded research is released. The changes also
required managers to notify researchers when their requests to release
research results have been approved or denied, and they required
researchers to refrain from releasing results until they received
approval. In contrast, although NASA has not made any changes to its
policy that guides the dissemination of research through the media, in
May 2007, it converted a key management position in the Headquarters
Office of Public Affairs from a political appointment to a career civil
service position. This was done to address allegations that an official
in this office had suppressed climate change science and denied media
access to scientists during 2004 and 2005. The change resulted from a
management review conducted in early 2006 by NASA‘s leadership looking
into these allegations.
While the majority of researchers are familiar with the dissemination
policies, GAO‘s survey indicates that in 2009, 87 percent of
researchers were familiar with NASA‘s dissemination policies, compared
with 92 percent in 2007, and slightly less were confident they
understood the policies well enough to follow them for certain kinds of
dissemination routes, such as publications, presentations, and agency
releases. As in 2007, researchers continue to learn about the policies
mainly through on-the-job training and e-mails from NASA officials. GAO‘
s 2009 survey, like the 2007 survey, also indicates that researchers
remain unclear about when they may discuss research results that have
policy implications, including when they may discuss their own views,
even though NASA has clarified its policy to allow researchers to do so
as long as they do not attribute their views to the agency.
Since 2007, NASA has not adopted any new procedures for appealing
dissemination decisions. As in 2007, in 2009 relatively few NASA
researchers were aware of and familiar with the agency‘s appeals
process. Specifically, GAO‘s survey found that about one-third of NASA
researchers were aware that the agency has a process to appeal
decisions related to dissemination, but only about 8 percent said they
were familiar with it. Fewer researchers in 2009 than in 2007 said they
had sought to disseminate their research in the past 5 years (83
percent compared with 91 percent), and more researchers had their
requests denied for other than technical reasons (12 percent in 2009
compared with 7 percent in 2007). Nonetheless, 85 percent of
researchers continue to believe that the agency generally supports the
dissemination of research results and that the agency‘s efforts to
inform them about policies for all dissemination routes are generally
effective.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends that NASA include in its efforts to increase
researchers‘ awareness of its policies a focus on the processes
researchers are to follow when they wish to appeal decisions. In
commenting on a draft of this report, NASA concurred with our
recommendation.
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-200] or key
components. For more information, contact Ms. Anu Mittal at (202) 512-
3841 or mittala@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Background:
NASA Has Made Some Changes to Improve Dissemination of Research
Results:
Fewer Researchers Are Familiar with NASA's Dissemination Policies, but
Most Believe the Policies Effectively Ensure Access to Research
Results:
Many Researchers Remain Unfamiliar with How to Appeal Decisions, and
More Dissemination Requests Have Been Denied:
Conclusions:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Appendix II: Selected Results of the 2009 Survey of NASA Researchers:
Appendix III: Comments from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration:
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Figures:
Figure 1: Percentage of Researchers Who Are Familiar with NASA's
Dissemination Policies, 2007 and 2009:
Figure 2: Percentage of Researchers Who Are Confident That They
Understand Policies Well Enough to Follow Them, 2007 and 2009:
Figure 3: Percentage of Researchers Who Believe NASA's Efforts to
Inform Them about Policies Are Effective by Dissemination Route, 2007
and 2009:
Figure 4: Percentage of Researchers Who Sought to Disseminate Their
Research Results, 2007 and 2009:
Figure 5: Percentage of Researchers Who Believe That NASA Supports
Dissemination, by Route of Dissemination, 2007 and 2009:
Abbreviations:
FPPS: Federal Personnel and Payroll System:
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology:
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
NPR: National Public Radio:
OIG: Office of Inspector General:
[End of section]
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
December 3, 2009:
The Honorable John D. Rockefeller:
Chairman:
The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Bart Gordon:
Chairman:
The Honorable Ralph M. Hall:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Science and Technology:
House of Representatives:
The federal government supports a wide range of scientific and
engineering research and development efforts to advance general
knowledge, support science-related public policy, and enhance the
nation's economic competitiveness, among other things. Much of
federally funded research is designed to serve the goals and missions
of over a dozen federal agencies, including the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA). Open communication and the exchange of
research results with the broader scientific community are critical to
advancing the state of scientific understanding. While the results of
some research cannot be shared for national security or intellectual
property reasons, dissemination of most federally funded research helps
to ensure a return on the public's investment in research. Federally
sponsored research may be conducted by federally employed researchers
or by university and other researchers who receive grants and contracts
awarded by various federal agencies.
From its beginning, NASA has been responsible for the nation's
aeronautical and space activities, including conducting and sponsoring
research related to its four mission areas--aeronautics research,
exploration systems, science, and space operations. The statute that
established NASA in 1958 calls for the agency to "provide the widest
practicable and appropriate dissemination" of the scientific and
technical information resulting from its research efforts.[Footnote 1]
Research results can be disseminated through a number of different
routes to reach a variety of audiences. Some dissemination routes, such
as publication through peer-reviewed journals and agency scientific and
technical reports, share information with the scientific community.
Similarly, researchers can present their findings to colleagues at
scientific conferences, workshops, symposia, or professional society
meetings. Other dissemination routes are intended to reach the public
at large. For example, agency press releases or postings on agency Web
sites can help target media or public attention to particular research
findings and agency events, and media interviews can provide the
general public with access to information about scientific activities
and results.
In recent years, concerns arose that NASA researchers were prevented
from sharing the results of their work, particularly with respect to
the sensitive topic of climate change and the impact of global warming.
In light of these concerns, in 2006 Congress requested that we review
the dissemination policies and practices for federally funded research
at three agencies--NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
In our May 2007 report, we found that NASA's policies were generally
clear and should help facilitate the dissemination of research
results.[Footnote 2] However, we raised a number of concerns, including
that many NASA scientists did not understand their agency's policies
related specifically to media interviews or press releases and were
generally unaware of NASA's policy for appealing dissemination
decisions.[Footnote 3] We also found that NASA generally did not offer
formal training to its researchers on its dissemination policies.
Through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization
Act of 2008, Congress stated that "NASA should not dilute, distort,
suppress, or impede scientific research or the dissemination thereof"
and directed us to determine whether NASA is implementing the
regulations governing the dissemination of research results in a clear
and consistent manner.[Footnote 4] In response to the mandate and as
agreed with your offices, this report, which follows up on our 2007
report, discusses (1) what changes, if any, have been made since 2007
to the policies that guide the dissemination of federally funded
research results at NASA; (2) the extent to which NASA researchers
believe that the agency's dissemination policies have been more
effectively communicated since 2007, and their experiences in using the
process; and (3) what processes, if any, NASA has adopted since 2007
for researchers to follow if they have concerns about decisions
regarding the dissemination of their research results, and how those
concerns have been addressed[Footnote 5].
To identify and evaluate the changes that may have been made since 2007
to the policies that guide the dissemination of federally funded
research results at NASA, we obtained, reviewed, and analyzed NASA's
current research dissemination policies, and compared them with the
prior policies. We contacted scientific managers and public affairs
officials who are responsible for the dissemination of research results
at NASA's headquarters and all 10 centers and used a standard set of
questions to ensure that we obtained consistent information about each
aspect of NASA's dissemination policies and practices.[Footnote 6] In
addition, we obtained copies of the relevant dissemination policies and
discussed with NASA officials how these policies were implemented and
how they have changed, if at all, since 2007. To identify the extent to
which NASA researchers believe that the agency's dissemination policies
have been more effectively communicated since 2007, what their
experiences have been in disseminating research, and how their concerns
about dissemination decisions have been addressed, we sent a Web-based
survey to all 2,790 researchers at NASA. We defined researchers to be
included in our population as federally employed scientists, engineers,
or other researchers who are in a position to disseminate their
research results to a wider audience. To identify these researchers, we
obtained from center or program managers at NASA a list of researchers
in their organization who would meet our defined criterion. Overall, we
received a response rate of 57.5 percent to our survey, for a total of
1,605 respondents. We compared the respondents with nonrespondents on
available administrative data, such as the center where they work, but
did not find any significant differences on the available variables.
Although our survey was intended to be a census, for the purposes of
analyzing the results, we decided to treat our survey as a random
sample. We used largely the same survey instrument that was the basis
for our May 2007 report on dissemination policies at selected agencies.
[Footnote 7] Through our survey, we sought the researchers' views on
NASA's research dissemination policies, the level of agency support for
dissemination, and their experiences with disseminating research
results. Unless otherwise noted, point estimates we report for 2009
have a 95 percent level of confidence of plus or minus 4 percent. An
expanded explanation of our scope and methodology can be found in
appendix I. Appendix II contains selected results from our 2009 survey.
We conducted this performance audit from January 2009 to December 2009
in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that
the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and
conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Background:
NASA's work is performed at 10 research and flight centers across the
United States. Each of these centers conducts a variety of research,
engineering, construction, and support functions related to the
agency's mission, and each has a separate management structure,
including a Center Director, to guide its activities. Furthermore, each
center has its own public affairs office responsible for managing its
media contacts and communications. NASA's Washington, D.C.,
headquarters provides overall guidance for each of the mission areas
and public affairs oversight of agencywide programs and activities to
coordinate and maintain communication channels to the news media and
public.
Federally employed NASA researchers must adhere to both agencywide and
center-specific policies and procedures when disseminating information
outside of the agency. The requirements for dissemination depend on the
type of information to be released, the method used for dissemination,
and the intended audience. NASA has (1) policies for disseminating
scientific and technical information through presentations and
publications to the scientific community and also (2) a media policy
that governs the release of information to the general public through
media interviews and press releases. Scientific and technical
information--defined as the results of basic and applied scientific,
technical, and related engineering research and development--is
typically disseminated through NASA publications, outside journals,
presentations at meetings or workshops, and Web sites.[Footnote 8]
NASA's policies for the dissemination of such research results
establish a series of reviews to determine whether the information is
suitable for public release based on national security or intellectual
property concerns, is technically accurate, and meets data quality
standards. NASA's media policy governs the release of information about
the agency's activities and results to the general public through such
methods as interviews, press releases, media advisories, news features,
and Web postings. This policy specifically defines the roles and
responsibilities of managers, researchers, and public affairs officials
in deciding what information can be released. For example, the policy
directs public affairs officials at both NASA headquarters and the
relevant center to ensure the timely release of public information by
obtaining review and clearance by appropriate officials. It also
includes an appeals process for researchers to use when they disagree
with the agency's decision regarding whether to release information.
In recent years, allegations have been made regarding interference with
the efforts of NASA researchers to disseminate their research results
to external audiences. A number of these concerns surrounded
politically sensitive topics, such as climate change, where research
was allegedly being suppressed. For example, in December 2005, the NASA
Headquarters Office of Public Affairs denied a request from National
Public Radio (NPR) to speak with a NASA scientist known for expertise
on the subject of climate change. However, not long before NPR's
request for an interview, this scientist had delivered a presentation
on climate change at a scientific conference, prompting concerns that
the NASA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs had improperly denied
NPR's interview request.
The concerns over NASA's alleged suppression of research resulted in
reviews of the agency's dissemination practices by the NASA Office of
Inspector General (OIG) in addition to our review in 2007. In June
2008, NASA's OIG issued two reports on the dissemination of research
results at NASA. Specifically, the OIG evaluated NASA's process for
reviewing, approving, and releasing research results and investigated
allegations that NASA had suppressed the dissemination of climate
change research and information through the media. In the first report,
the OIG found that NASA's guidance adequately defined the roles and
responsibilities for the review, approval, and release of NASA research
results through publications and presentations but that the guidance
had not been effectively implemented at the four centers it reviewed--
Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Langley Research
Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center.[Footnote 9] The OIG
determined that, among other things, researchers were not always
notified when the review process had been completed, and center
management had not adequately informed researchers about the process to
follow when they wanted to disseminate their research results through
publications or presentations. While the OIG did not identify instances
in which research results had been inappropriately released, it noted
that the absence of timely notice to researchers regarding
dissemination decisions increases the risk of releasing research
results that should be restricted for export control, national
security, or other reasons.[Footnote 10] Finally, the OIG surveyed
researchers who had sought to disseminate their research results and
found no evidence that NASA purposefully used the review process to
suppress scientific research at those four centers.
In its second report, the OIG found that during the fall of 2004
through early 2006, the NASA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs
reduced, marginalized, or mischaracterized climate change science made
available to the general public.[Footnote 11] The OIG found that the
suppression of climate change research was localized within the NASA
Headquarters Office of Public Affairs and that senior NASA officials
stated they were unaware of the situation until the allegations
appeared in a national newspaper. According to the report, once NASA
leadership was made aware of the suppression, it aggressively
implemented corrective actions. For example, NASA revised its policy
that governs dissemination of research results through the media and
reaffirmed its policy that researchers may discuss their opinions on
the implications of research results provided they attribute such views
to themselves and not the agency. The OIG determined that the
suppression had occurred, in part, because political appointees
controlled key positions responsible for deciding which research
results NASA would disseminate to the media.
NASA Has Made Some Changes to Improve Dissemination of Research
Results:
Since May 2007, NASA has changed some of its policies on the
dissemination of research results through publications and
presentations, and it has made a key leadership change in its main
public affairs office to address allegations that an official in this
office had played a key role in suppressing climate change science and
media access to climate scientists in the past. Since 2007, NASA has
made no changes to its policy on dissemination through news releases
and media interviews.
NASA Has Clarified the Roles and Responsibilities of Reviewing
Officials for Dissemination of Research Results through Publications
and Presentations:
In late 2007 and early 2009, NASA changed one of its policies on
dissemination of research results through publications and
presentations. Specifically, in contrast to the policy in place prior
to December 2007, the revised policy holds researchers responsible for
ensuring that the results they seek to disseminate have been properly
reviewed and approved prior to releasing them. In addition, the revised
policy directs reviewing officials in the centers to include training
in their efforts to ensure that NASA researchers are aware of the
requirements and procedures for the review, approval, and dissemination
of research results.[Footnote 12] In January 2009, in response to the
OIG's review of dissemination practices at four centers, NASA further
revised this policy to strengthen the earlier changes by including
additional responsibilities for officials in the centers and in NASA
headquarters.[Footnote 13] For example, the revised policy directed
center managers to (1) establish plans to ensure that researchers are
aware of the review requirements, and (2) notify researchers in a
timely manner whether their research has been approved or rejected for
release. The revised policy also directed NASA officials responsible
for overseeing the dissemination of research results to annually review
the compliance of NASA's centers with the updated policy, and evaluate
the overall effectiveness of the agency's review and approval process.
As part of its efforts to ensure compliance by the centers with the
revised policies, headquarters officials told us they have assessed
compliance at the four centers reviewed by the OIG and, as of October
2009, are finalizing a report on their findings. These officials also
said they will begin annual compliance reviews for all centers in 2010.
In addition, NASA officials have taken steps to implement an automated
system to enhance managers' and researchers' ability to monitor
requests through the review and approval process. Specifically, during
its review, the OIG found that managers who use paper-based systems
were unable to readily determine when research may have been
inappropriately released, whether requests had been denied, and how
many requests were undergoing review. In fiscal year 2009, NASA
approved funding to test an automated tracking system in two centers;
the system is in operation at one of the centers, and is set to become
operational at the other center early in fiscal year 2010.[Footnote 14]
The use of such systems will be voluntary at other centers, since
headquarters will provide only limited funding to maintain them. NASA
officials told us that several centers have expressed interest in
developing automated tracking systems but, as of October 2009, have not
secured the necessary funding.
Officials at the four centers reviewed by the OIG have also taken a
number of steps to implement the policy changes made in 2007 and 2009.
For example, all four centers reviewed their center-specific policies
and procedures--which generally reinforce or elaborate on NASA-wide
policies--and two centers revised their policies.[Footnote 15] For
example, one center revised a flow chart contained in its procedures to
more accurately reflect the center's review and approval process.
Centers have also taken steps toward establishing a process to ensure
timely notification of researchers about dissemination decisions,
according to NASA officials. Currently, some centers have electronic
systems that provide notification automatically, while others provide
notification through e-mails and telephone calls. NASA headquarters
officials said that the automated tracking system, once implemented
agencywide, would also help ensure that notification occurs in a timely
manner at the conclusion of the review and approval process.
NASA Changed a Key Public Affairs Position to Help Ensure Dissemination
of Research Results to the Public through the Media:
Since 2007, NASA has not made any changes to its media policy,[Footnote
16] but in May 2007 it converted a key management position in the
Headquarters Office of Public Affairs from a political appointment to a
career civil service position. This change followed a management
review--conducted in early 2006 by NASA's leadership--of allegations
that its Headquarters Office of Public Affairs had suppressed climate
change science and denied media access to scientists in 2004 and 2005.
In a June 2008 report on these concerns, the OIG concluded that
inappropriate political posturing was the proximate cause of at least
some of these actions and that a political appointee who was the Deputy
Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs at the time of the alleged
suppression was a central figure in the allegations of censorship and
denial of media access.[Footnote 17] According to the OIG report, NASA
intended that the conversion of the position to a career civil service
position would facilitate communications within the Headquarters
Office, where the suppression of information had been localized. NASA
officials told us that the agency placed a career civil servant in the
position after the incumbent political appointee, who had held the
position during the time that climate science had been suppressed, left
NASA. The career civil servant took over the position in May 2007.
Fewer Researchers Are Familiar with NASA's Dissemination Policies, but
Most Believe the Policies Effectively Ensure Access to Research
Results:
Although NASA has taken some steps to increase researchers' awareness
of its dissemination policies, our survey results in 2009 indicate that
while most researchers are familiar with the dissemination policies,
fewer researchers were familiar with them than in 2007, and slightly
fewer were confident they understood the policies well enough to follow
them. However, most researchers reaffirmed their belief that NASA's
policies effectively ensure access to research results and that the
agency's efforts to help them understand the various dissemination
policies are generally effective.
NASA Has Undertaken Various Efforts to Increase Researchers' Awareness
of Dissemination Policies:
In response to a review by its OIG, NASA tasked headquarters officials
responsible for oversight of dissemination of research results through
publications and presentations with ensuring that NASA researchers are
aware of the agency's review and approval requirements. However, as of
October 2009, headquarters officials said they have relied on the
centers to create and implement plans to increase awareness. Thus far,
officials at some centers have taken actions to increase researchers'
awareness of the requirements for review, such as sending a center-wide
e-mail emphasizing the importance of completing the review process
prior to releasing research results and increasing outreach to
researchers who work in areas that produce significant amounts of
research. According to NASA headquarters officials, they may take
additional steps in the future to increase awareness, such as having
the centers include information on the review and approval process in
their new employee orientation programs.
NASA has also taken steps since 2007 in response to our report to help
raise awareness of its media policy. Specifically, in May 2007 we
recommended that NASA provide formal training to inform, reinforce, and
update managers, researchers, and public affairs staff on dissemination
policies. As a result of our recommendations, NASA undertook a number
of formal training activities with regard to its media policy.
Specifically, a senior public affairs official conducted presentations
at each of the centers regarding the media policy. As part of these
meetings, officials presented an overview of the policy, answered
questions from employees, and distributed copies of the policy to each
public affairs officer and to senior managers. In December 2007, NASA
distributed materials on the policy to public affairs staff and
discussed the policy in meetings that included headquarters and center
public affairs officials. Finally, a discussion of the media policy was
incorporated into the orientation for new public affairs officers.
Results from both surveys, as well as agency officials we spoke with,
indicated that most NASA researchers receive information about
dissemination policies through means other than formal training,
although fewer researchers said in 2009 that they learn about policies
through e-mails from center and NASA managers and more said they had
received formal training. Our 2009 survey results show that researchers
get information through a variety of methods, most commonly through on-
the-job training (about 70 percent) and e-mails or other correspondence
from center managers to all center staff (68 percent). Additionally,
more than half of researchers cited Administrator-level e-mails or
correspondence sent to all NASA staff. Although e-mails from both
center and Administrator-level management represent the second and
third most common method of receiving information about NASA policies,
about 10 percent fewer researchers cited these in 2009 than in 2007.
[Footnote 18] Furthermore, roughly half of researchers in both surveys
responded that they learned about policies through notifications on
intranet sites and staff or town hall meetings.[Footnote 19] Finally,
in 2009 more researchers reported learning about dissemination policies
through formal training--42 percent compared with 32 percent in 2007.
[Footnote 20] These results appear consistent with the fact that NASA
headquarters and public affairs officials told us that the agency
largely relies on methods other than formal training to inform staff
about the media policy and appeals process.
Fewer Researchers Are Familiar with NASA's Dissemination Policies than
in 2007, and Slightly Fewer Are Confident That They Understand the
Policies:
Although our surveys from 2007 and 2009 indicate that about 90 percent
of researchers are familiar with NASA's dissemination policies, fewer
researchers in 2009 compared with 2007 said they are very or moderately
familiar with NASA's dissemination policies. Specifically, according to
our 2009 survey results, 87 percent of researchers were very or
moderately familiar with NASA's dissemination policies, compared with
92 percent in 2007.[Footnote 21] See figure 1.
Figure 1: Percentage of Researchers Who Are Familiar with NASA's
Dissemination Policies, 2007 and 2009:
[Refer to PDF for image: horizontal bar graph]
Very or moderately familiar, 2007: 91.9%;
Upper confidence level: 94.3%;
Lower confidence level: 88.4%.
Very or moderately familiar, 2008: 87.1%;
Upper confidence level: 88.2%;
Lower confidence level: 86.1%.
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
From 2007 to 2009, we also found a small decline in the percentage of
researchers who said they were very or moderately confident that they
understood the policies for dissemination of research results through
publications and presentations well enough to follow them (about 85
percent in 2009 compared with about 90 percent in 2007).[Footnote 22]
Similarly, a small decline occurred in the percentage of researchers
who were very or moderately confident they understood the policies
related to agency releases (55 percent in 2009 compared with 61 percent
in 2007).[Footnote 23] We found no change in the confidence researchers
have about their understanding of the policies related to media
interviews. See figure 2.
Figure 2: Percentage of Researchers Who Are Confident That They
Understand Policies Well Enough to Follow Them, 2007 and 2009:
[Refer to PDF for image: vertical bar graph]
Publications: 2007: 90.3%;
Upper confidence level: 93%;
Lower confidence level: 86.8%.
Publications: 2009: 87.5%;
Upper confidence level: 88.6%;
Lower confidence level: 86.4%.
Presentations: 2007: 88.3%;
Upper confidence level: 91.4%;
Lower confidence level: 84.4%.
Presentations: 2009: 85.3%;
Upper confidence level: 86.4%;
Lower confidence level: 84.1%.
Agency releases: 2007: 60.9%;
Upper confidence level: 66.6%;
Lower confidence level: 54.9%.
Agency releases: 2009: 55.3%;
Upper confidence level: 57.2%;
Lower confidence level: 53.4%.
Media interviews: 2007: 55.1%;
Upper confidence level: 61%;
Lower confidence level: 49%.
Media interviews: 2009: 52%;
Upper confidence level: 53.9%;
Lower confidence level: 50.1%.
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
As would be expected, those researchers who thought NASA's efforts to
educate them about dissemination policies were extremely to moderately
effective were more likely to feel confident that they understood the
policies than those who thought the agency's efforts were less
effective.Footnote 24] For example, 76 percent of researchers who
reported being very to moderately confident that they understood the
dissemination policies related to media interviews also responded that
NASA's efforts to educate them about these policies were extremely to
moderately effective. In contrast, 17 percent of researchers who
reported being very to moderately confident about how to apply the
policies for dissemination through media interviews also responded that
NASA's efforts to educate them about these policies were slightly to
not at all effective. In addition, researchers who said they had tried
to disseminate their results in the past 5 years were more likely than
other researchers to be confident that they understood the policies
related to the dissemination route they used. For example, 69 percent
of researchers who sought to disseminate research results through
agency releases in the past 5 years were very or moderately confident
that they understand NASA's policies for dissemination through agency
releases, whereas 55 percent of all researchers, regardless of whether
they had sought to use agency releases, reported being very or
moderately confident they understand dissemination policies related to
agency releases.
Our 2007 and 2009 surveys also indicate that many researchers remain
unclear about when they may discuss research results that have
potential policy implications. Specifically, according to our 2009
survey, when research results are consistent with NASA's policy, 66
percent of researchers believe they are allowed to discuss the results,
while 15 percent believe they may not, and 19 percent were uncertain.
[Footnote 25] However, fewer researchers believe they may discuss
research results when the results differ from NASA's policy.
Specifically, 43 percent believe they may discuss such results, 19
percent believe they may not, and 38 percent were uncertain.
Additionally, just over half of researchers (54 percent) believe they
may discuss their personal views related to research results that have
potential policy implications, while 13 percent believe they may not
and 34 percent were uncertain. This uncertainty about discussing
research results and expressing personal views exists despite clear
statements in NASA's revised media policy that employees may discuss
their results and express personal views as long as they attribute such
views to themselves and not the agency.
Most Researchers Believe NASA's Policies Ensure Access to Research
Results:
In our 2007 and 2009 surveys, almost 90 percent of researchers reported
that overall the agency's policies are extremely to moderately
effective in ensuring access to research results.[Footnote 26] In
addition, over 85 percent of researchers believed NASA's efforts to
inform them about policies for dissemination through publications and
presentations were extremely to moderately effective, and about 68
percent reported the same regarding media interviews. However, in 2009,
fewer researchers believed that NASA's efforts to inform them about the
policies for disseminating research through agency releases were
extremely to moderately effective (72 percent said so in 2009 compared
with 81 percent in 2007).[Footnote 27] See figure 3.
Figure 3: Percentage of Researchers Who Believe NASA's Efforts to
Inform Them about Policies Are Effective by Dissemination Route, 2007
and 2009:
[Refer to PDF for image: vertical bar graph]
Publications: 2007: 90.6%;
Upper confidence level: 93.1%;
Lower confidence level: 87.2%.
Publications: 2009: 89.2%;
Upper confidence level: 90.2%;
Lower confidence level: 88.2%.
Presentations: 2007: 88%;
Upper confidence level: 91%;
Lower confidence level: 84.1.
Presentations: 2009: 85.9%;
Upper confidence level: 87%;
Lower confidence level: 84.7%.
Agency releases: 2007: 80.8%;
Upper confidence level: 85.2%;
Lower confidence level: 75.4%.
Agency releases: 2009: 71.8%;
Upper confidence level: 73.6%.
Lower confidence level: 70.1%.
Media interviews: 2007: 73%;
Upper confidence level: 78.4%;
Lower confidence level: 66.8%.
Media interviews: 2009: 68.4%;
Upper confidence level: 70.4%;
Lower confidence level: 66.5%.
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
Many Researchers Remain Unfamiliar with How to Appeal Decisions, and
More Dissemination Requests Have Been Denied:
NASA has not adopted any new processes or procedures since 2007 for
researchers to use if they wish to appeal decisions regarding their
requests to disseminate their research results. Nevertheless, we found
in 2009, relatively few NASA researchers are aware of and familiar with
the agency's process to appeal dissemination decisions. In addition,
fewer researchers said they had sought to disseminate their research
results in the past 5 years, and more said their requests to
disseminate research results had been denied. However, most NASA
researchers continue to believe that the agency supports the
dissemination of research results and that NASA and its centers apply
policies for all routes of dissemination consistently.
NASA's Policy on Dissemination through the Media Includes an Appeals
Process, but Many Researchers Remain Unfamiliar with It:
NASA has not adopted any new processes or procedures since 2007 for
researchers to use if they wish to appeal decisions regarding their
requests to disseminate their research results. As in 2007, researchers
may follow the appeals process outlined in NASA's media policy if they
wish to appeal a decision about dissemination through press releases
and interviews. For other types of dissemination, such as through
publications and presentations, there is no formal appeals process,
although officials told us that researchers may raise concerns through
their supervisors or through other agency dispute resolution processes,
such as those for personnel disputes. These officials also said they
are not aware of any disputes regarding decisions to release research
results to the media and thus have not used the appeals process
described in the policy. For other types of dissemination, such as
through publications and presentations, for which there is no appeals
process, most NASA center managers told us that disputes over
disseminating research results are rare, and some managers said they
have never needed a formal process to resolve disputes.
Nonetheless, our 2009 survey shows that, as in 2007, about one-third of
NASA researchers reported that they were aware of NASA's process to
appeal decisions about dissemination of research results, but only 8
percent responded that they were familiar with the process. About 60
percent of the 8 percent of researchers who were both aware of and
familiar with the appeals process reported that it was extremely to
very effective.[Footnote 28] In both 2007 and 2009, about 20 percent of
researchers reported that they had appealed decisions when their
requests to disseminate research results were denied.[Footnote 29]
Fewer Researchers Sought to Disseminate Research Results, and More Have
Had Their Dissemination Requests Denied since 2007:
According to our 2009 survey, fewer researchers have tried to
disseminate their research results than in 2007, and more researchers
have had their requests to disseminate denied. Specifically, there was
an 8 percentage point decline in the number of researchers who
responded that they tried to disseminate their research results outside
of NASA in the last 5 years (83 percent in 2009 compared with 91
percent in 2007).[Footnote 30] Researchers in 2009 largely sought to
disseminate their research results through the same routes--
presentations, publications, agency releases, and media interviews--as
did researchers in 2007. However, fewer sought to disseminate their
results through agency releases.[Footnote 31] See figure 4.
Figure 4: Percentage of Researchers Who Sought to Disseminate Their
Research Results, by Route of Dissemination, 2007 and 2009:
[Refer to PDF for image: vertical bar graph]
Publications: 2007: 96.8%;
Upper confidence level: 98.2%;
Lower confidence level: 94.3%;
Publications: 2009: 94.1%;
Upper confidence level: 95%;
Lower confidence level: 93.2%.
Presentations: 2007: 97.1%;
Upper confidence level: 98.3%;
Lower confidence level: 95.1%
Presentations: 2009: 97.1%;
Upper confidence level: 97.7%;
Lower confidence level: 96.4%.
Agency releases: 2007: 40.8%;
Upper confidence level: 46.1%;
Lower confidence level: 35.6%.
Agency releases: 2009: 31.9%;
Upper confidence level: 33.5%;
Lower confidence level: 30.2%.
Media interviews: 2007: 27.8%;
Upper confidence level: 32.5%;
Lower confidence level: 23.5%.
Media interviews: 2009: 25%;
Upper confidence level: 26.5%;
Lower confidence level: 23.4%.
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
According to our survey results, more researchers in 2009 had their
requests to disseminate research results denied for reasons other than
those stemming from standard technical reviews (about 12 percent of
researchers in 2009, compared with about 7 percent in 2007).[Footnote
32] Most researchers whose requests had been denied were seeking to
disseminate research results through publications and presentations, as
we found in 2007. Also, as in 2007, researchers took various actions in
response to a denial. While more than half of researchers gave up on
efforts to disseminate, many others successfully disseminated their
research results by making revisions that led to approval or by using a
different dissemination route.
Researchers commented that they received a variety of reasons for the
denials, although some indicated they were given no reason.[Footnote
33] As in 2007, among the most common reasons reported for denials was
that the research was restricted for national security or other reasons
or that the topic or results were sensitive. Another commonly cited
reason was the lack of funding to attend conferences. Some researchers
specifically mentioned the restrictions on NASA's spending related to
conferences--a key venue for presenting research results--contained in
the NASA Authorization Act of 2008. The act authorized $5 million for
conference-related expenses in fiscal year 2009, a reduction of over
two-thirds from the previous fiscal year. Subsequently, in March 2009,
the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 clarified that the restrictions
did not apply to scientific or technical conferences and other
conferences at which NASA science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics are disseminated. According to NASA officials, the spending
limitation prevented many researchers from disseminating their research
results because decisions about conference attendance are typically
made early in a fiscal year. One NASA official estimates that only one-
third of NASA-funded research was presented to the scientific community
in 2009.
Researchers Continue to Believe That NASA Supports Dissemination, and
Most Believe NASA and Its Centers Consistently Apply Dissemination
Policies:
As in 2007, most researchers believe that NASA is very to moderately
supportive of disseminating research results but that the agency is
more supportive of some dissemination routes than others. We estimate
that 85 percent of researchers in 2009, compared with 89 percent in
2007, believe that NASA either insists on or encourages the
dissemination of research results.[Footnote 34] When comparing 2007 and
2009 survey results for specific dissemination routes, we found that
fewer researchers now believe that NASA is very to moderately
supportive of dissemination through presentations--92 percent of
researchers said this in 2007 compared with 84 percent in 2009.
[Footnote 35] While we cannot be certain of the reasons for this
decline, they may also be related to the limitation on conference
attendance in 2009 mentioned earlier. We also found a slight increase
in the percentage of researchers who believe NASA is very to moderately
supportive of dissemination through media interviews. Specifically, we
estimate that 68 percent of researchers in 2009 believe that NASA is
supportive of dissemination through media interviews compared with 62
percent of researchers in 2007.[Footnote 36] We also found a slight
decrease in the percentage of researchers who believe NASA is very to
moderately supportive of dissemination through publications--89 percent
in 2009 compared with 91 percent 2007.[Footnote 37] See figure 5.
Figure 5: Percentage of Researchers Who Believe That NASA Supports
Dissemination, by Route of Dissemination, 2007 and 2009:
[Refer to PDF for image: vertical bar graph]
Publications: 2007: 91.2%;
Upper confidence level: 93.8%;
Lower confidence level: 87.6%;
Publications: 2009: 89.3%;
Upper confidence level: 90.3%;
Lower confidence level: 88.2%.
Presentations: 2007: 91.6%;
Upper confidence level: 94.2%;
Lower confidence level: 88.1%
Presentations: 2009: 84%;
Upper confidence level: 85.27%;
Lower confidence level: 82.8%.
Agency releases: 2007: 75.5%;
Upper confidence level: 80.5%;
Lower confidence level: 69.6%.
Agency releases: 2009: 77.8%;
Upper confidence level: 79.5%;
Lower confidence level: 76.1%.
Media interviews: 2007: 61.8%;
Upper confidence level: 68.3%;
Lower confidence level: 54.8%.
Media interviews: 2009: 68.2%;
Upper confidence level: 70.3%;
Lower confidence level: 66%.
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
In comparing the 2009 and 2007 survey results, we also found that, in
general, researchers believe that both the centers and NASA as a whole
apply dissemination policies very to somewhat consistently. However, a
greater number of researchers now believe the centers more consistently
apply policies for dissemination through agency releases (83 percent in
2009 compared with 71 percent in 2007) and media interviews (77 percent
in 2009 compared with 62 percent in 2007).[Footnote 38] In addition,
more researchers in 2009 believe that NASA consistently applies
policies for media interviews (68 percent compared with 57 percent).
[Footnote 39] We also found an increase that approaches statistical
significance in the percentage of researchers in 2009 who believe NASA
consistently applies policies for dissemination through agency releases
(74 percent compared with 67 percent).[Footnote 40]
Our 2009 survey results indicate that researchers believe, across all
dissemination routes, that the centers more consistently apply
dissemination policies than NASA as a whole. Specifically, we estimate
on the basis of the 2009 survey results that 88 percent of researchers
believe their centers consistently apply policies related to
publications and 81 percent believe their centers consistently apply
policies related to presentations. In contrast, 79 and 73 percent of
researchers believe NASA as a whole consistently applies publication
and presentation policies, respectively. Further, 83 percent of
researchers believe their centers consistently apply policies related
to agency releases, and 77 percent believe their centers consistently
apply policies related to media interviews, whereas fewer believe NASA
as a whole consistently applies policies related to agency releases and
media interviews--74 and 68 percent, respectively.
Conclusions:
Scientific research is critical to the ability of NASA and other
agencies to achieve their missions and is at the heart of many major
policy decisions that agencies face. Open communication and exchanging
of research results contribute to advances in the state of scientific
knowledge and a well-informed public. In 2007, while we found that
NASA's policies were generally clear, we also raised a number of
concerns, including that many NASA researchers did not understand the
full range of the agency's policies and were generally unaware of
NASA's policy for appealing dissemination decisions. In response, NASA
undertook various efforts to increase the awareness of researchers
about its media policy. These efforts appear to have achieved some
success because, as our survey indicates, more researchers now believe
that NASA is supportive of dissemination through media interviews. In
addition, more researchers today believe that NASA and the centers
consistently apply policies for dissemination through agency releases
and media interviews, and researchers generally rate NASA's efforts to
help them understand the policies as effective. However, with regard to
dissemination through publications and presentations, we found that
fewer researchers are confident they understand the policies well
enough to apply them, and fewer believe that NASA is supportive of
using these routes to disseminate research results. Finally, now, as in
2007, very few researchers are familiar with how to appeal decisions
made in regard to their requests to disseminate their research results,
and about half of those who had their requests denied gave up trying to
disseminate their results. We are concerned that this may inhibit the
full range of scientific research from being shared with the scientific
community and the public.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To strengthen NASA's efforts to better inform its researchers and
ensure that the policies guiding researchers and public affairs
officials in their efforts to disseminate research results to other
scientists and the public are well understood, we recommend that the
NASA Administrator direct officials responsible for dissemination of
research results through all routes to include in their efforts to
inform researchers a focus on the processes researchers are to follow
when they wish to appeal decisions.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided the NASA with a draft of this report for their review and
comment. NASA concurred with our recommendation and stated that the
NASA Administrator will direct the appropriate NASA officials,
including the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, to work with
the appropriate NASA entities to review the agency's dissemination
policies and provide appropriate education and training for researchers
to ensure they clearly understand the processes for appealing
dissemination decisions. The comment letter from NASA is presented in
appendix III.
We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional
committees, the Administrator of NASA, and other interested parties.
The report also will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. If you or your staff have any
questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-3841 or
mittala@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional
Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this
report. Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix IV.
Signed by:
Anu K. Mittal:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Authorization
Act of 2008 directed GAO to determine whether NASA is implementing the
regulations governing the dissemination of research in a clear and
consistent manner. In response, this report discusses (1) what changes,
if any, have been made since 2007 to the policies that guide the
dissemination of federally funded research results at NASA; (2) the
extent to which NASA researchers believe that the agency's
dissemination policies have been more effectively communicated since
2007 and what their experiences have been in using the process; and (3)
what processes, if any, NASA has adopted since 2007 for researchers to
follow if they have concerns about decisions regarding the
dissemination of their research results and how those concerns have
been addressed.
To identify and evaluate what changes have been made since 2007 to
NASA's policies that guide the dissemination of federally funded
research results, we obtained, reviewed, and analyzed the agency's
dissemination policies, and compared them to prior policies. In
addition, we contacted managers and public affairs officials who are
responsible for dissemination of research results at NASA headquarters
and at each of 10 research, space, and space flight centers. We used a
standard set of questions to ensure we obtained consistent information,
confirmed that we had copies of the relevant dissemination policies,
and discussed at length the ways in which these policies had changed
since 2007 and how these policies were put into practice. We also
included questions about what processes NASA has adopted since 2007 for
researchers to follow if they have concerns about decisions regarding
the dissemination of their research results.
To identify to what extent NASA researchers believe that the agency's
dissemination policies have been more effectively communicated since
2007 and what their experiences have been in using the process for
disseminating their research results and how their concerns about
dissemination decisions have been addressed, we sent a Web-based survey
to all 2,790 researchers at NASA. This survey instrument was in large
part identical to the one used as the basis for GAO'S May 2007 report
on policies guiding dissemination of scientific research at NASA, the
National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We sought the NASA researchers'
views on their agency's research dissemination policies, the level of
agency support for dissemination, and their experiences with
dissemination. We defined researchers to be included in our population
as federally employed scientists, engineers, or other researchers who
are in a position to disseminate their research results to a wider
audience. We included researchers from 9 of the 10 NASA centers and
excluded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from our review because contract
researchers primarily perform research at this center and NASA does not
maintain a database that contains the names of individual contract
researchers. In addition, contract researchers might charge NASA for
costs related to participating in the survey. To identify researchers
for our survey, we obtained from center or program managers at NASA a
list of researchers in their organization who would meet our defined
criterion. To mitigate the risk that NASA center and program managers
may not have provided the complete universe of relevant researchers, we
interviewed NASA public affairs and scientific officials to identify
the key characteristics of individuals in a position to disseminate
research. We then obtained from NASA's Office of Human Capital a list,
broken out by center, of offices that employed researchers who met
these key characteristics. NASA obtained this information from the
Federal Personnel and Payroll System (FPPS) Datamart, which is the
official data source for personnel and payroll information on NASA
civil service employees. To assess the reliability of the information
in this database for the purposes of our report, we submitted a set of
questions to NASA related to how the data are managed and maintained.
On the basis of NASA's responses to these questions, we determined that
the data are adequate to identify offices within NASA that employ
researchers who meet the key characteristics. After obtaining the list
of offices from NASA, we asked officials at each center to verify that
they had considered all the program offices on the list when they
developed their original list of researchers and, if not, we asked them
to contact those offices to determine if any researcher names should be
added to our survey universe.
Information about accessing the survey was provided via e-mail for all
survey participants. The survey was activated, and researchers were
informed of its availability, on July 14, 2009; it was available
thorough September 18, 2009. To ensure security and data integrity, we
provided all participants with user names and personal passwords that
allowed them to access and complete the survey. To reduce survey
nonresponse, we sent out multiple e-mail reminder messages and
conducted follow-up telephone calls to all nonrespondents to encourage
them to complete the survey. From initial notification, we identified
379 individuals who were outside the target population. For example,
some individuals had retired from the agency. In all, we received a
57.5 percent response rate.
We compared the respondents with nonrespondents on available
administrative data, such as the center where they work, but did not
find any significant differences on the available variables. Although
our survey was intended to be a census, for the purposes of analyzing
the results, we decided to treat our survey as a random sample.
Specifically, we took the response rate within each of the 9 NASA
centers and used this to derive a statistical weight. We applied
statistical weight to the respondents so that their answers would
represent the population. This requires the assumption that the
nonrespondents are missing at random.
All sample surveys are subject to sampling error--that is, the extent
to which the survey results differ from what would have been obtained
if the whole population had been observed. Measures of sampling error
are defined by two elements, the width of the confidence intervals
around the estimate (sometimes called the precision of the estimate)
and the confidence level at which the intervals are computed. Because
we treated our survey as a stratified random sample, we assumed our
sample was only one of a large number that could have been drawn.
Because each sample could have provided different estimates, we
expressed our confidence in the precision of our particular sample's
results as a 95 percent confidence interval. This is the interval that
would contain the actual population value for 95 percent of the samples
we could have drawn. As a result, we are 95 percent confident that each
of the confidence intervals based on the survey includes the true
values in the sample population. The 95 percent confidence intervals
for numeric estimates are presented along with those estimates in the
body of the report. Unless otherwise noted, any comparisons between
point estimates for 2009 have a 95 percent level of confidence of plus
or minus 4 percentage points.
In addition to sampling errors, the practical difficulties of
conducting any survey may introduce errors, commonly referred to as
nonsampling errors. For example, differences in how a particular
question is interpreted, the information sources available to
respondents, or the types of sample members who do not respond can
introduce unwanted variability into the survey results. We assumed that
the propensity to respond to our survey did not depend upon the
questions we asked, and we assumed that the respondents were
statistically similar to the nonrespondents. If characteristics of
respondents are different from those of nonrespondents on key items, it
could introduce a bias not accounted for in our analysis. We took
extensive steps in questionnaire development, data collection, and the
editing and analysis of the survey data to minimize nonsampling errors.
This survey instrument was in large part identical to the one used as
the basis for GAO'S May 2007 report on policies guiding dissemination
of scientific research at three agencies, including NASA. The 2007
survey was developed by a GAO survey specialist in conjunction with
subject matter experts, and then reviewed by a second independent
survey specialist. In addition, we pretested the survey by telephone
with researchers from NASA. During these pretests, we asked the
researchers to complete the survey as they would when they received it.
We then interviewed the respondents to ensure that (1) the questions
were clear and unambiguous, (2) the terms we used were precise, (3) the
survey did not place an undue burden on the researchers completing it,
and (4) the survey was independent and unbiased. On the basis of the
feedback from the pretests, we revised the questions, as appropriate.
In making minor revisions to the 2007 survey to make it acceptable for
the 2009 survey, we also worked with survey specialists, who determined
that the changes made would not require additional pretesting. The SAS
and SUDAN programs that produced the 2009 survey estimates, including
estimates of categories derived from content analysis, were reviewed by
a second, independent programmer to ensure accuracy in the logic and
syntax of the program.
Regarding the survey data on instances in which researchers were denied
the opportunity to disseminate, the percentage of researchers reporting
such instances can be generalized to the population. However, because
the number of denials is small, the details concerning the reason for
denial, the researcher's primary field of research, and the actions
taken in response to the denial cannot be generalized. Because the
issue of a researcher being denied is a salient piece of our analysis,
we included this nongeneralizable information to provide context to
this important issue. To analyze select, open-ended questions on our
survey, including those given as the reason researchers said they were
denied, we conducted a content analysis to develop our agreement
statistics. Reviewers (two per question) collaboratively developed
content categories based on survey responses, and then independently
assessed and coded each survey response into those categories.
Intercoder reliability (agreement) statistics were electronically
generated in the coding process, and agreement statistics for all
categories were 90 percent or above. Coding disagreements were resolved
through reviewer discussion or a third-party arbiter.
We conducted this performance audit from January 2009 through December
2009 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Selected Results of the 2009 Survey of NASA Researchers:
The following tables contain summary results of selected questions from
our survey of researchers at NASA in 2009. For each question reported
below, the estimated percentage is presented along with its 95 percent
confidence interval. These tables do not include summary-level data for
the demographic questions and do not include the results from any open-
ended questions.
Q8. Overall how familiar or unfamiliar are you with the policies NASA
has in place regarding the dissemination of research results outside of
the agency?
Question choices: Very or moderately familiar;
Percentage of respondents: 87.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 86.1-88.2.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all familiar;
Percentage of respondents: 12.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.8-13.9.
Q9. Has NASA used any of the following means to help you understand how
to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination of research
results outside of the agency?
a. Formal training sessions:
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 42.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 40.4-43.7.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 44.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 42.9-46.1.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 13.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 12.3-14.6.
Q9. Has NASA used any of the following means to help you understand how
to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination of research
results outside of the agency?
b. On-the-job training (including mentoring):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 71.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 70.3-73.2.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 23.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 22.0-24.7.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 4.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 4.2-5.6.
Q9. Has NASA used any of the following means to help you understand how
to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination of research
results outside of the agency?
c. Staff or town hall meetings:
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 46.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 44.7-48.1.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 39.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 37.6-40.8.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 14.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.2-15.6.
Q9. Has NASA used any of the following means to help you understand how
to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination of research
results outside of the agency?
d. E-mails or other correspondence from Administrator-level offices
sent to all staff:
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 53.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 52.0-55.3.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 24.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 23.2-26.0.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 21.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 20.4-23.1.
Q9. Has NASA used any of the following means to help you understand how
to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination of research
results outside of the agency?
e. E-mails or other correspondence from center management sent to all
center or office staff:
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 68.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 67.0-70.0.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 16.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 14.9-17.2.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 15.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 14.3-16.6.
Q9. Has NASA used any of the following means to help you understand how
to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination of research
results outside of the agency?
f. Notification on intranet sites:
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 46.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 44.9-48.2.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 22.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 20.8-23.5.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 31.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 29.8-32.8.
Q9. Has NASA used any of the following means to help you understand how
to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination of research
results outside of the agency?
g. Other, please specify below:
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 18.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 16.0-20.5.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 44.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 41.3-47.1.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 37.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 34.8-40.4.
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have NASA's efforts been to
help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding the
dissemination of research results through each of the following routes?
a. Publications (such as peer-reviewed publications or non-peer-
reviewed publications):
Question choices: Extremely, very, or moderately effective;
Percentage of respondents: 89.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 88.2-90.2.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all effective;
Percentage of respondents: 10.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 9.8-11.8.
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have NASA's efforts been to
help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding the
dissemination of research results through each of the following routes?
b. Presentations (such as keynote addresses, conferences, workshops,
symposia, professional society meetings, or congressional hearings):
Question choices: Extremely, very, or moderately effective;
Percentage of respondents: 85.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 84.7-87.0.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all effective;
Percentage of respondents: 14.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.0-15.3.
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have NASA's efforts been to
help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding the
dissemination of research results through each of the following routes?
c. Agency releases (such as press releases, posting on an agency
intranet site, or agency reports or fact sheets):
Question choices: Extremely, very, or moderately effective;
Percentage of respondents: 71.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 70.1-73.6.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all effective;
Percentage of respondents: 28.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 26.4-29.9.
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have NASA's efforts been to
help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding the
dissemination of research results through each of the following routes?
d. Media interviews:
Question choices: Extremely, very, or moderately effective;
Percentage of respondents: 68.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 66.5-70.4.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all effective;
Percentage of respondents: 31.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 29.6-33.5.
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have NASA's efforts been to
help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding the
dissemination of research results through each of the following routes?
e. Other, please specify below:
Question choices: Extremely, very, or moderately effective;
Percentage of respondents: 54.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 45.9-63.1.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all effective;
Percentage of respondents: 45.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 36.9-54.1.
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective NASA's efforts have
been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand the
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
a. Publications:
Question choices: Very or moderately confident;
Percentage of respondents: 87.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 86.4-88.6.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all confident;
Percentage of respondents: 12.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.4-13.6.
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective NASA's efforts have
been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand the
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
b. Presentations:
Question choices: Very or moderately confident;
Percentage of respondents: 85.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 84.1-86.4.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all confident;
Percentage of respondents: 14.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.6-15.9.
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective NASA's efforts have
been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand the
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
c. Agency releases:
Question choices: Very or moderately confident;
Percentage of respondents: 55.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 53.4-57.2.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all confident;
Percentage of respondents: 44.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 42.8-46.6.
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective NASA's efforts have
been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand the
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
d. Media interviews:
Question choices: Very or moderately confident;
Percentage of respondents: 52.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 50.1-53.9.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all confident;
Percentage of respondents: 48.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 46.1-49.9.
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective NASA's efforts have
been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand the
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
e. Other, please specify below:
Question choices: Very or moderately confident;
Percentage of respondents: 51.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 43.5-59.5.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all confident;
Percentage of respondents: 48.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 40.5-56.5.
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
a. Publications:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 87.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 86.4-88.7.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 5.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 4.4-5.9.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 7.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 6.4-8.2.
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
b. Presentations:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 81.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 80.1-82.8.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 9.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 8.2-10.2.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 9.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 8.3-10.4.
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
c. Agency releases:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 83.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 81.6-85.1.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 10.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 9.2-12.1.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 6.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 4.9-7.2.
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
d. Media interviews:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 76.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 74.8-78.9.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 14.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.1-16.6.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 8.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 7.0-9.6.
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
e. Other, please specify below:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 43.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 32.1-53.9.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 23.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 14.2-34.0.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 34.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 23.7-44.3.
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
NASA as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
a. Publications:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 78.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 77.1-80.2.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 8.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 7.1-9.2.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 13.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.9-14.5.
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
NASA as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
b. Presentations:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 73.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 71.4-74.8.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 11.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 9.9-12.3.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 15.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 14.4-17.2.
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
NASA as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
c. Agency releases:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 74.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 72.0-76.4.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 12.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 10.5-13.7.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 13.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.9-15.4.
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
NASA as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
d. Media interviews:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 68.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 66.1-70.9.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 15.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.2-16.9.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 16.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 14.5-18.4.
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
NASA as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
e. Other, please specify below:
Question choices: Very or somewhat consistently;
Percentage of respondents: 53.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 42.9-64.4.
Question choices: Neither consistently or inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 19.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.5-30.3.
Question choices: Somewhat or very inconsistently;
Percentage of respondents: 26.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 17.6-37.5.
Q14. Overall, do you believe NASA's dissemination policies are
effective or ineffective in ensuring access to the results of research
conducted at the agency?
Question choices: Extremely, very, or moderately effective;
Percentage of respondents: 87.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 85.9-88.2.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all effective;
Percentage of respondents: 12.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.8-14.1.
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is NASA toward dissemination research
results through each of the following routes?
a. Through publications, such as peer-reviewed journals or non-peer-
reviewed journals:
Question choices: Very or moderately supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 89.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 88.2-90.3.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 10.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 9.7-11.8.
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is NASA toward dissemination research
results through each of the following routes?
b. Through presentations, such as at conferences or at congressional
hearings:
Question choices: Very or moderately supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 84.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 82.8-85.2.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 16.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 14.8-17.2.
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is NASA toward dissemination research
results through each of the following routes?
c. Through agency releases, such as press releases, posting on an
agency intranet site, or agency reports or fact sheets:
Question choices: Very or moderately supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 77.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 76.1-79.5.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 22.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 20.5-23.9.
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is NASA toward dissemination research
results through each of the following routes?
d. Through interviews with media:
Question choices: Very or moderately supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 68.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 66.0-70.3.
Question choices: Slightly or not at all supportive;
Percentage of respondents: 31.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 29.7-34.0.
Q16. Overall, which of the following statements best characterizes the
extent to which NASA supports the dissemination of research results?
Question choices: NASA insists or encourages dissemination;
Percentage of respondents: 85.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 84.1-86.4.
Question choices: NASA neither insists or encourages dissemination;
Percentage of respondents: 10.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 9.2-11.2.
Question choices: NASA discourages or does not allow dissemination;
Percentage of respondents: 3.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 2.6-3.8.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 1.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 1.1-1.9.
Q17. Does your area of research have the potential to affect federal
policy decisions?
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 27.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 26.4-29.3.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 45.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 43.7-47.0.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 26.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 25.3-28.2.
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent NASA's position on discussing these research
results?
a. I can discuss research results with potential policy implications
when the results are consistent with the agency's policy or position
statements.
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 65.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 62.9-68.7.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 15.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.0-17.5.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 19.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 16.5-21.4.
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent NASA's position on discussing these research
results?
b. I can discuss research results with potential policy implications
when the results differ from the agency's policy or position
statements.
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 43.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 40.3-46.5.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 18.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 16.2-21.0.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 38.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 35.0-41.0.
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent NASA's position on discussing these research
results?
c. I can discuss research results with potential policy implications on
issues for which the agency does not have a policy or position
statement.
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 63.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 60.9-66.8.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 9.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 7.7-11.3.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 26.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 23.9-29.4.
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent NASA's position on discussing these research
results?
d. I can discuss potential policy implications of research results
provided that I state the policy implications as my personal views and
not those of the agency.
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 53.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 50.6-56.7.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 12.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 10.5-14.7.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 33.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 30.8-36.6.
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent NASA's position on discussing these research
results?
e. I am not allowed to discuss the potential policy implications of
research results.
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 8.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 6.3-9.7.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 60.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 57.6-63.7.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 31.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 28.5-34.3.
Q19. In the past 5 years, have you sought to disseminate the results of
your own scientific research outside of NASA?
Question choices: Yes (skip to question 21);
Percentage of respondents: 82.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 81.4-83.8.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 17.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 16.2-18.6.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
1. I don't conduct research that requires dissemination.
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 32.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 28.4-35.8.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 67.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 64.2-71.6.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
2. I don't conduct my own research.
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 37.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 33.7-41.4.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 62.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 58.6-66.3.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
3. Someone else disseminates research results on my behalf.
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 10.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 8.1-13.2.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 89.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 86.8-92.0.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
4. I sought to disseminate results in the past and was not allowed to.
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 1.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.6-2.7.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 98.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 97.3-99.4.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
5. My research is ongoing and is not ready to be released.
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 16.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.5-19.4.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 83.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 80.6-86.5.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
6. My research is not eligible for public dissemination.
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 8.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 5.9-10.5.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 92.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 89.5-94.1.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
7. Agency policies did not allow me to disseminate.
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 1.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.9-3.4.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 98.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 96.6-99.1.
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside of the agency?
8. Other, please specify below:
(If Question 19 is No):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 15.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 12.9-18.7.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 84.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 81.3-87.1.
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
a. Publications (such as peer-reviewed publications or non-peer-
reviewed publications):
(If Question 19 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 94.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 93.2-95.0.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 5.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 4.8-6.5.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 0.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.1-0.5.
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
b. Presentations (such as keynote addresses, conferences, workshops,
symposia, professional society meetings, or congressional hearings):
(If Question 19 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 97.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 96.4-97.7.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 2.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 2.0-3.2.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 0.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.1-0.6.
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
c. Agency releases (such as press releases, posting on an agency
intranet site, or agency reports or fact sheets):
(If Question 19 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 31.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 30.2-33.5.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 58.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 56.7-60.2.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 9.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 8.6-10.8.
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
d. Media interviews:
(If Question 19 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 25.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 23.4-26.5.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 65.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 63.5-67.0.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 9.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 8.7-10.9.
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
e. Other, please specify below:
(If Question 19 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 16.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 13.9-18.8.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 60.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 57.2-63.8.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 23.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 20.3-26.0.
Q22. Other than for standard technical review reasons, over the past 5
years, have you ever encountered a situation when NASA did not allow
you to disseminate your research results?
(If Question 19 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 11.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 10.7-13.0.
Question choices: No (skip to question 26);
Percentage of respondents: 88.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 87.0-89.3.
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
a. Publications (such as peer-reviewed publications or non-peer-
reviewed publications):
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 39.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 35.0-44.8.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 60.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 55.2-65.0.
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
b. Presentations (such as keynote addresses, conferences, workshops,
symposia, professional society meetings, or congressional hearings):
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 62.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 57.4-66.9.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 37.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 33.1-42.6.
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
c. Agency releases (such as press releases, posting on an agency
intranet site, or agency reports or fact sheets):
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 11.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 8.7-15.0.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 88.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 85.0-91.3.
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
d. Media interviews:
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 4.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 2.7-6.6.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 95.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 93.4-97.3.
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
e. Other, please specify below:
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Checked;
Percentage of respondents: 6.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 4.6-9.7.
Question choices: Not checked;
Percentage of respondents: 93.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 90.3-95.4.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
a. Appealed the decisions using established procedures.
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 23.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 18.8-28.2.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 76.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 71.8-81.2.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 0.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.0-2.2.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
b. Disseminated the results anyway.
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 6.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 4.5-10.0.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 92.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 89.1-94.9.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 0.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.1-2.3.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
c. Disseminated the results through a different route.
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 24.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 19.4-28.8.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 73.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 68.2-78.0.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 2.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 1.4-5.1.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
d. Added a disclaimer that the opinions expressed in the research
results do not reflect the views of the agency.
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 6.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 4.3-10.4.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 91.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 87.9-94.5.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 1.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.5-3.4.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
e. Resubmitted the same or similar document.
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 15.9;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.8-20.7.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 82.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 77.5-86.4.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 2.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 0.9-4.3.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
f. Gave up trying.
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 53.3;
95 percent confidence interval: 47.7-58.9.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 43.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 38.0-49.2.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 3.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 1.4-5.8.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
g. Received approval following other types of revisions.
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 22.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 18.0-27.4.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 72.6;
95 percent confidence interval: 67.5-77.7.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 4.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 2.5-7.8.
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
h. Other, please specify below:
(If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes):
Question choices: Yes;
Percentage of respondents: 33.4;
95 percent confidence interval: 25.6-41.1.
Question choices: No;
Percentage of respondents: 49.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 40.7-57.2.
Question choices: Not sure;
Percentage of respondents: 17.7;
95 percent confidence interval: 11.7-25.0.
Q26. To the best of your knowledge, does NASA have a process or
procedure in place to appeal decisions made regarding the dissemination
of research results?
Question choices: Yes, I'm aware of a process or procedure and am
familiar with it;
Percentage of respondents: 8.2;
95 percent confidence interval: 7.3-9.0.
Question choices: Yes, I'm aware of a process or procedure but am not
familiar with it;
Percentage of respondents: 25.0;
95 percent confidence interval: 23.5-26.4.
Question choices: No (skip to question 28);
Percentage of respondents: 18.1;
95 percent confidence interval: 16.8-19.3.
Question choices: Not sure (skip to question 28);
Percentage of respondents: 48.8;
95 percent confidence interval: 47.2-50.4.
27. In your opinion, how effective or ineffective is this appeals
process or procedure in terms of its ability to resolve dissemination
issues in a fair and reasonable manner?
Question choices: Extremely, very, or moderately effective;
Percentage of respondents: 81.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 77.5-85.6.
Question choices: Slightly to not at all effective;
Percentage of respondents: 18.5;
95 percent confidence interval: 14.4-22.5.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Comments from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
Office of the Administrator:
Washington, DC 20546-0001:
November 24, 2009:
Ms. Anu Mittal:
Director:
Natural Resources and Environment:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Ms. Mittal:
NASA appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) draft report entitled, "Federal Research:
NASA Should Better Inform Researchers About How to Appeal Dissemination
Decisions" (GA0-10-200).
In the draft report, GAO makes one recommendation regarding the
dissemination of scientific research, which is addressed to the NASA
Administrator.
Recommendation: GAO recommends that the NASA Administrator direct
officials responsible for dissemination of research results through all
routes to include in their efforts to inform researchers a focus on the
processes researchers are to follow when they wish to appeal decisions.
Response: NASA concurs with this recommendation. The NASA Administrator
will direct the Officials in Charge including the Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs to work with the appropriate NASA
entities to review the Agency's dissemination policies and provide
appropriate education and training for researchers to ensure they
clearly understand the processes for appealing dissemination decisions.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this draft
report and for the critical insight it provides. If you have any
questions, please contact Bob Jacobs on (202) 358-1760.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Lori B. Garver:
Deputy Administrator:
[End of section]
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Ms. Anu Mittal, 202-512-3841 or mittala@gao.gov:
Staff Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact person named above, Cheryl Williams
(Assistant Director), Carl Barden, Laura Erion, Richard Johnson, Amanda
Miller, Ben N. Shouse, Lisa Turner, Fatema Wachob, and Elizabeth Wood
made key contributions to this report.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, Pub. L.
No. 85-568, § 203, 72 Stat. 429 (1958).
[2] GAO, Federal Research: Policies Guiding the Dissemination of
Scientific Research from Selected Agencies Should Be Clarified and
Better Communicated, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-
653] (Washington, D.C.: May 17, 2007).
[3] Throughout this report we use the phrase "agency releases" to
include press releases, postings on NASA's Web sites, or agency reports
or fact sheets.
[4] Pub. L. No. 110-422, § 1109(b)(1), 122 Stat. 4811 (2008).
[5] Throughout this report, we use the phrase "since 2007" to refer to
changes made since the issuance of our report on policies for
disseminating research at selected agencies. See [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-653].
[6] The NASA centers included in this review were the Ames Research
Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Goddard
Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Center,
Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center, Marshall Space Flight
Center, and Stennis Space Center. We subsequently excluded the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory from our review because contract researchers
primarily perform research at this center and NASA does not maintain a
database with the names of individual contract researchers. In
addition, contract researchers might charge NASA for costs related to
participating in the survey.
[7] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-653].
[8] Throughout this report we refer to scientific and technical
information as research results. In addition, we refer to the authors
or originators of such information as researchers.
[9] National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Inspector
General, Actions Needed to Ensure Scientific and Technical Information
Is Adequately Reviewed at Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space
Center, Langley Research Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center,
Report No. IG-08-017 (Washington, D.C.: June 2008).
[10] Export Administration Regulations and International Traffic in
Arms Regulations control the export of, among other things, certain
technology and technical data to foreign countries.
[11] National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Inspector
General, Investigative Summary Regarding Allegations that NASA
Suppressed Climate Change Science and Denied Media Access to Dr. James
E. Hansen, a NASA Scientist (Washington, D.C.: June 2008).
[12] NASA Policy Directive, "Management of NASA Scientific and
Technical Information," NPD 2200.1A, December 6, 2007.
[13] NASA Inspector General Report No. IG-08-017. See also NM 2200.71,
January 2009. [The Interim Directive does not have a specific name or
title.]
[14] Thus far, Ames Research Center has fully implemented an automated
tracking system, referred to as the Electronic Document Availability
Authorization. Dryden Flight Research Center has conducted orientation
and training to prepare for implementation in early fiscal year 2010.
[15] Center-specific policies, procedures, and guidance for
dissemination of research through presentations and publications at
seven of the nine centers we reviewed are consistent with agencywide
policies. The two remaining centers rely solely on the agencywide
guidance.
[16] NASA's media policy also governs dissemination of research to the
public through news features, media advisories, or news-related Web
postings. Seven of the nine centers we reviewed also have center-
specific policies, procedures, and guidance governing the dissemination
of information to the media, all of which are consistent with NASA's
agencywide guidance. The remaining two centers rely solely on the
agencywide policy. According to center officials, some center-specific
policies and procedures are designed to expand on the roles and
responsibilities of center public affairs staff and to establish
guidance for situations not specifically addressed by the agencywide
media policy. For example, one center's policy outlines the steps to be
taken when a media correspondent initiates a story and then seeks to
make it an exclusive story with the center's cooperation.
[17] National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Inspector
General, Investigative Summary Regarding Allegations that NASA
Suppressed Climate Change Science and Denied Media Access to Dr. James
E. Hansen, a NASA Scientist (Washington, D.C.: June 2008).
[18] According to our 2007 survey results, 78.5 percent (95 percent
confidence interval 74.0-82.3) of researchers cited e-mails or other
correspondence from center management as a means of learning about
agency dissemination policies, and 62.5 percent (95 percent confidence
interval 57.3-67.4) cited correspondence from Administrator-level
offices. In our 2009 survey, the corresponding numbers were 68.5
percent (95 percent confidence interval 67.0-70.0) for center
management and 53.7 percent (95 percent confidence interval 52.0-55.3)
for Administrator-level offices.
[19] According to our 2007 survey results, 50.7 percent (95 percent
confidence interval 45.3-56.0) of researchers cited notifications on
intranet sites, and 48.2 percent (95 percent confidence interval 42.9-
53.6) cited staff or town hall meetings as a means of learning about
agency dissemination policies. In our 2009 survey, 46.5 percent (95
percent confidence interval 44.9-48.2) of researchers cited
notifications on intranet sites and 46.4 percent (95 percent confidence
interval 44.7-48.1) cited staff or town hall meetings as a means of
learning about agency dissemination policies.
[20] For 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was
27.3 to 37.2 percent. For 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 40.4 to 43.7 percent.
[21] For 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was
88.4 to 94.3 percent. For 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 86.1 to 88.2 percent.
[22] For publications in 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 86.4 to 88.6 percent. For presentations in 2009, the range
for the 95 percent confidence interval was 84.1 to 86.4 percent. For
publications in 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval
was 86.8 to 93.0 percent. For presentations in 2007, the range for the
95 percent confidence interval was 84.4 to 91.4 percent.
[23] For 2009 agency releases, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 53.4 to 57.2 percent. For 2007 agency releases, the range
for the 95 percent confidence interval was 54.9 to 66.6 percent.
[24] According to our 2009 survey results, 93.7 percent of researchers
were very to moderately confident they understood policies related to
publications when they said NASA's efforts to educate them were
extremely to moderately effective (the 95 percent confidence interval
was 92.8 to 94.6). The corresponding numbers were 92.3 percent (the 95
percent confidence interval was 91.3 to 93.3) for policies related to
presentation, 76.1 percent (the 95 percent confidence interval was 74.0
to 78.2) for policies related to agency releases, and 76.0 percent (the
95 percent confidence interval was 73.8 to 78.2) for policies related
to media interviews.
[25] For researchers who answered they are allowed to discuss the
results 65.8 (the range for the 95 percent confidence interval is 62.9
to 68.7) and 15.2 (the range for the confidence interval is 13.0 to
17.5) for those who believe they may not. Nineteen percent were
uncertain (the range for the confidence interval is 16.5 to 21.4).
[26] For 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was
85.1 to 91.6 percent. For 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 85.9 to 88.2 percent.
[27] For 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was
75.4 to 85.2 percent. For 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 70.1 to 73.6 percent.
[28] The range for the 95 percent confidence interval was 54.4 to 65.5
percent.
[29] For 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was 9.5
to 39.5 percent. For 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 18.8 to 28.2 percent.
[30] According to our 2007 survey results, 90.6 percent (95 percent
confidence interval 87.1 to 93.2) of researchers sought to disseminate
their research results outside of NASA. In our 2009 survey, 82.6
percent (95 percent confidence interval 81.4 to 83.8) sought to
disseminate research.
[31] According to our 2007 survey results, 40.8 percent (95 percent
confidence interval 35.6 to 46.1) of researchers sought to disseminate
their research results via agency releases. In our 2009 survey, 31.9
percent (95 percent confidence interval 30.2 to 33.5) sought to
disseminate research via agency releases.
[32] For 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was 4.6
to 10.4 percent. For 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 10.7 to 13.1 percent.
[33] While the number of denials can be generalized to the population,
the reasons provided for the denials cannot be generalized to the
population. The reasons for the denials represent the sentiments of
individual respondents and not the population of NASA researchers. We
received a total of 209 comments regarding the reasons that were given
for denying requests to disseminate research results.
[34] For 2007, the 95 percent confidence interval was 84.8 to 91.5
percent. For 2009, the 95 percent confidence interval was 84.1 to 86.4
percent.
[35] According to our 2007 survey results, 91.6 percent (95 percent
confidence interval 88.1 to 94.2) of researchers believed NASA was very
or moderately supportive of dissemination through presentations. In our
2009 survey, 84.0 percent (95 percent confidence interval 82.8 to 85.2)
believed NASA was very or moderately supportive of dissemination
through presentations.
[36] According to our 2007 survey results, 61.8 percent (95 percent
confidence interval 54.8 to 68.3) of researchers believed NASA was very
or moderately supportive of dissemination through media interviews. In
our 2009 survey, 68.2 percent (95 percent confidence interval 66.0 to
70.3) believed NASA was very or moderately supportive of dissemination
through media interviews.
[37] According to our 2007 survey results, 91.2 percent (95 percent
confidence interval 87.6to 93.8) of researchers believed NASA was very
or moderately supportive of dissemination through presentations. In our
2009 survey, 89.3 percent (95 percent confidence interval 88.2 to 90.3)
believed NASA was very or moderately supportive of dissemination
through publications.
[38] For 2007 agency releases, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 64.4 to 77.4 percent. For 2009 agency releases, the 95
percent confidence interval was 81.6 to 85.1 percent. For 2007 media
interviews, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was 54.9
to 69.1. For 2009 media interviews, the range for the 95 percent
confidence interval was 74.8 to 78.9.
[39] For 2007, the range for the 95 percent confidence interval was
49.5 to 64.4 percent. For 2009, the range for the 95 percent confidence
interval was 66.1 to 70.9 percent.
[40] For 2007, the 95 percent confidence interval was 59.7 to 73.3
percent. For 2009, the 95 percent confidence interval was 72.0 to 76.4
percent.
[End of section]
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