01
Research independence
Researchers must be able to publish findings that support, challenge, or recommend revisions to project policy proposals. No desired survey result is presumed.
Research transparency
Methodology, Independence & Publication Standards
A public account of how evidence should be developed, challenged, protected, reported, and corrected.
Independent research findings are not the same as The Formation Accountability Project’s legislative policy proposals.
Research may support, challenge, or recommend revisions to MAPSA. The project’s advocacy position must not determine a study’s design, reported results, or conclusions.
Transparency commitments
02
Survey methodology
The questionnaire, branching logic, consent version, and analytical methods will be versioned. Pilot testing and appropriate validation precede activation.
03
Sampling limitations
A public survey is not automatically a representative military-wide study. Recruitment channels, coverage, nonresponse, and generalizability limitations must accompany findings.
04
Informed consent
Participation requires institutionally approved language explaining purpose, voluntariness, risks, expected time, data handling, confidentiality limits, contacts, and withdrawal procedures.
05
Research oversight
A responsible investigator and appropriate IRB determination or approval are required, alongside assessment of applicable DoD and military research requirements.
06
Privacy and confidentiality
The core survey avoids direct identifiers and unnecessary technical retention. Confidentiality limitations must be stated accurately; anonymity is never assumed.
07
Conflicts of interest
Researchers and reviewers should disclose relevant financial, institutional, professional, and advocacy relationships that could affect design, interpretation, or review.
08
Data retention
The approved protocol must define retention periods, storage controls, deletion procedures, withdrawal limits, and who may access each category of information.
09
Publication standards
Reports require authorship, methodology, findings, limitations, citations, source verification, version history, and appropriate review before release.
10
Funding disclosures
Future publications must identify material funding, in-kind support, and institutional sponsorship. No current university or government sponsorship is asserted.
11
Corrections and revisions
Material corrections receive a dated version record explaining what changed. Independent findings remain distinguishable from the project's legislative advocacy.
Source and claim review
The initiative also maintains the project’s original source-hierarchy, statutory-traceability, provisional-statistics, and legal-readiness statements.