USDA orders scientists to say published research is 'preliminary'

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

USDA orders scientists to say published research is ‘preliminary’

By Ben Guarino April 19 at 12:08 PM

Researchers at the Agriculture Department laughed in disbelief last summer when they received a memo about a new requirement: Their finalized, peer-reviewed scientific publications must be labeled “preliminary.”

The July 2018 memo from Chavonda Jacobs-Young, the acting USDA chief scientist, told researchers their reports published in scientific journals must include a statement that reads: “The findings and conclusions in this preliminary publication have not been formally disseminated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy.” A copy of the memo was obtained by The Washington Post and the USDA confirmed its authenticity.

The disclaimer appears to conflict with the integrity policy that governs research at the USDA, said Susan Offutt, who was the administrator of the Economic Research Service, a USDA statistical agency, under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The claim that reports are not “formally disseminated” runs counter to the USDA policy that “permits and, indeed, encourages researchers to publish in scientific journals,” Offutt said.

William Trenkle, the USDA departmental scientific integrity officer, released a statement in response to questions from The Washington Post that addressed the “formally disseminated” term in the required language: “Dissemination is a term of art used for publication of official positions of one or more agencies of the federal government.” It is defined, he said, as “agency-initiated or sponsored distribution” of information to the public. “Outside scientific publications can be factual presentations of data that do not present any policy or position of the federal government.”

Trenkle said in the statement that the department plans to update the disclaimer’s phrasing “in the near future."

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/04/19/usda-orders-scientists-say-published-research-is-preliminary/

[abqtommy]

1. I don't have any problems with the "preliminary" language

since all scientific results are constantly changing and being updated as new information is found.

[cstanleytech]

2. If the goal was for accuracy sure but I suspect the goal is to undercut them and make it easier

for corporations for example to fight things like new laws or regulations such as discharging waste.

[SCantiGOP]

3. I think this is the accurate assessment

And another example of the dangerous anti-science orientation of the current Administration.

[hunter]

4. Claims that the Trump Administration is legitimate are preliminary...

... and increasingly unlikely.