To ensure the reliability and objectivity of research and the resulting scientific information, the FRDC and its research partners have developed the Research and Science Information Guidelines for Australian Fisheries to define what constitutes best-practice, high-quality and reliable scientific information. The guidelines are based on the following principles:
- Relevance: research and scientific information must be relevant and contribute directly to answering key questions and addressing management objectives.
- Reliability: information must be accurate and reproducible.
- Objectivity: information must be impartial and free of personal bias.
- Integrity: information must be protected from inappropriate alteration, selective interpretation or presentation. Scientific information should remain complete throughout the science-to-decision process.
- Peer review: the primary, internationally-accepted mechanism for evaluating the quality of research and scientific information is peer review. For published papers, the work must be evaluated by one or more experts in the appropriate field. For published reports, the findings of IMAS and CSIRO are the result of expert knowledge and robust research, reviewed by entire teams of experts.
