Regulations and Procedures for Research

These regulations and procedures guide the life of research projects at ISERG, from the initial proposal through to the publication of literature and other assets. For successful and ethical research, this documentation is mean to be used alongside the Code of Conduct and Code of Research Ethics.

General Project Regulations

  1. All participants must comply strictly with the ISERG governance literature, including the code of conduct and code of research ethics.
  2. Projects must fall completely within the scope of space science and technology. While applications may extend beyond the space domain, the primary focus must remain space-related.
  3. Research groups must verify that their activities, physical hardware designs, and shared technical data do not violate international export control laws, such as the United States International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR), and equivalent dual-use frameworks.
    1. ISERG strives to uphold the Fundamental Research Exclusion (FRE) of the EAR to expand the scope of our research. To ensure the FRE is upheld, the findings of applicable research must be shared openly with the scientific community, with no restrictions on the sharing of such findings and no undue restrictions on the participation of non-US residents or nationals.
  4. ISERG resources, technology, and research assets cannot be used for unauthorized military, defense, or dual-use end-uses.
  5. Researchers must take personal and collective accountability for the good stewardship of all research resources, funding, physical equipment, and intellectual property.
  6. All reported findings, deliverables, and literature must be original, authentic, and completely free of fabricated data or plagiarism. Authorship lists must accurately represent only those who made significant intellectual contributions.

Procedure for Research Projects

  1. After submitting a formal research project proposal outlining the research scope, objectives, methodology, and required resources, research groups must receive explicit approval from ISERG before beginning a project under ISERG affiliation and to use limited ISERG resources.
  2. Researchers must maintain clear, accurate, and secure records of all methodology, experiment results, hardware blueprints, and mechanical apparatus logs to allow for verification and replication.
  3. Research groups will be assigned a senior advisor to provide academic and ethical oversight, mentorship, and project management support throughout the project lifecycle. For best success, the group should request a review from their senior advisor upon completion of each of the following project milestones:
    1. Experiment/method design
    2. Apparatus construction and calibration (if applicable)
    3. Data collection
    4. Results synthesis and conclusions
  4. To reduce risk of rejection or delays, the group should request a review from their senior advisor before each of the following:
    1. Conference abstract submission
    2. Manuscript submission
    3. Peer-review revisions submission
  5. Research Associates may be assigned an institutional email (@iserg.org) for submitting literature and receiving relevant communications, such as peer-review comments.
  6. ISERG will upload preprints or accepted manuscripts to its public archive when allowed by the publisher.

For Multi-Institutional Projects (Additional Procedures)

  1. Collaborative research involving external universities, institutes, or industry partners requires a formal review to ensure all parties align with ISERG's core principles of honesty, accountability, professional courtesy, and good stewardship.
  2. Data sharing, handling of physical hardware, and intellectual property agreements must be clearly established prior to project initiation, ensuring full compliance with international trade sanctions and export controls.

For Projects Led by an External Institution (Additional Procedures)

  1. When an external institution acts as the primary coordinator, the external institution's operational procedures will govern day-to-day research workflows, provided they do not conflict with ISERG ethics and governance.
  2. ISERG research associates participating in externally led projects remain individually responsible for classifying their contributions and verifying that their disclosures of technology, designs, and information do not violate dual-use regulations.
  3. ISERG must be properly acknowledged as an affiliated institution for contributing Research Associates in all subsequent literature, patents, and conference deliverables.