Section Three
IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY POLICIES

OPENNESS IN RESEARCH

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Stanford University places overriding importance on the principle of openness in research, i.e., the principle of freedom of access by all interested persons to the underlying data, the processes and the final results of research. For that reason, Stanford University will not seek and will not accept funding for research projects that require secrecy. This includes a long-standing ban on the acceptance of work classified as secret by the US Government.

Stanford faculty are advised to review program announcements and solicitations carefully, to assure that they do not contain language referring to or mandating compliance with export laws or regulations. Similarly, no projects should be proposed or accepted if they will restrict researcher participation (faculty, student, others) based on country of origin or citizenship.

This policy does not preclude the appropriate protection of personal privacy and/or proprietary information, as required when research involves human subjects, for example, or when certain proprietary information is entrusted to a researcher at Stanford for use in a project. In all cases, however, the underlying data, processes and final results of Stanford research projects must be freely publishable.

Any students with questions in this regard should discuss the issue with their faculty advisor or contact Ann George in the Office of the Dean of Research, 723-9721.

For more details, including the full text of the University's policy, see:

• Openness in Research policy
  (http://rph.stanford.edu/2-6.html)
• Nondiscrimination in Foreign-Sponsored Research Agreements
  (http://rph.stanford.edu/10-4.html)
• Openness in Research checklist
  (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DoR/C-Res/ITARlist.html)

Stanford has a separate policy specifically for students involved with outside companies who want students to work on their proprietary materials. This policy extends and clarifies requirements for students related to:

• Openness in Research (publishability)
• Ownership of Intellectual Property
• Conflict of Commitment and Interest

The full text of the policy may be found at "Relationships Between Students (Including Postdoctoral Scholars) and Outside Entities" (http://rph.stanford.edu/2-11.html)

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