Stanford University
AC-11: Access to Research

For the full text of the university policy on openness in research, please visit the following website: http://doresearch.stanford.edu/policies/research-policy-handbook/conduct-research/openness-research. An excerpt is included below for reference.

EXCERPT FROM STANFORD'S POLICY ON OPENNESS IN RESEARCH:

The rules adopted by the Academic Council on September 29, 1967, are hereby amended and, as amended, are reaffirmed:

(1) No research on a thesis or dissertation should be undertaken if, at the time the topic is set, there is any substantial possibility that it will lead to a secret thesis or dissertation.

(2) No secret thesis or dissertation should be accepted as the basis for a degree unless, in the judgment of the Committee on Graduate Studies, the imposition of secrecy could not reasonably have been foreseen until the work was so far advanced that modification of the thesis topic would have resulted in substantial inequity to the student.

(3) Scholarly activities not accessible for scrutiny by the entire Advisory Board should not be considered in connection with appointments, reappointments or promotions.

(4) The University should enter no contract and accept no grant to carry out research if the grant or contract restrains the freedom of the University to disclose the:

(4A)Existence of the contract or grant or,

(4B) General nature of the inquiry to be conducted or,

(4C) Identity of the outside contracting or granting entity or,

(4D) The research results;

provided that this clause shall not apply either (a) to anonymous gifts or grants that do not call for the performance of specified lines of inquiry, or (b) to research grants or contracts from individuals or non-governmental entities who request anonymity out of a justifiable motivation to protect individual privacy.

Research is available from a variety of sources, including publications, libraries, institutes, etc.

For the full text of the university policy on openness in research, please visit the following website: http://doresearch.stanford.edu/policies/research-policy-handbook/conduct-research/openness-research. An excerpt is included below for reference.

EXCERPT FROM STANFORD'S POLICY ON OPENNESS IN RESEARCH:

That the principle of openness in research - the principle of freedom of access by all interested persons to the underlying data, to the processes, and to the final results of research - is one of overriding importance. Accordingly, it is the decision of the Senate that that principle be implemented to the fullest extent practicable, and that no program of research that requires secrecy (as hereafter defined) be conducted at Stanford University, subject to the exceptions set forth in Paragraph 4 of this Resolution.

Stanford University Libraries maintains extensive collections to support sustainability research. Librarians regularly support classes and research in this area, including the following examples:
http://library.stanford.edu/guides/planet-edge-rhetoric-sustainable-energy-0
http://library.stanford.edu/guides/sustaining-action-research-analysis-and-writing-public
http://library.stanford.edu/guides/writing-nature-discourses-ecology-culture-and-technology
http://library.stanford.edu/guides/staying-cool-hot-planet-environmental-rhetoric-changing-world

Librarians develop research guides to assist researchers in sustainability fields. For example:
http://library.stanford.edu/guides/green-building-resources