OMB Issues Final
Guidelines on "Data Quality"
January 11, 2002 - The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Jan. 3 published in the Federal
Register its final guidelines [67
FR 369] for assuring the quality of information disseminated by
federal agencies. The original and interim draft guidelines released
in June and Sept. 2001, respectively, raised concerns from the academic
community that the new standards could supersede or obviate peer review
or other established practices for the release of scientific information.
In an apparent response to these concerns, the final guidelines regard
external peer review as "presumptively objective." However, members
of the public may contest the objectivity of research findings released
by federal agencies, particularly if those findings influence important
public policies or private sector decision-making. The guidelines also
encourage federal agencies to make supporting data and methods available
to the public, but leave agencies discretion to determine if findings
are indeed influential and if corrections are called for.
OMB also clarified that the guidelines do not apply to academic researchers
who publish findings from federal grants, unless such publication is
specifically directed by a federal agency. Other federal agencies have
until Oct. 1, 2002, to write their own guidelines and procedures that
comply with OMB's standards.
The development of these "data quality" guidelines was required by
legislation introduced by Rep. Mary Jo Emerson (R-Mo.) last year and
was supported by industry lobbyists who question the validity of scientific
studies supporting many federal regulations.
Information:
Stephen Heinig, Senior Research Fellow
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
sheinig@aamc.org
(202) 828-0488
This page contains documents in Portable Document Format (PDF).
The Adobe Acrobat® Reader® is required to view PDF documents. Download
Acrobat® Reader®.
Get Washington Highlights
in your Inbox!
| 
