Association with SRI is subject to guidelines and procedures concerning investigation as determined by the general membership via the process of voting, or by the duly elected committee of that particular application.

Witness Confidentiality

All associates are required to hold witness confidentiality in the highest regard (i.e. county and nearby location are permitted in a published report; witness name and address are not). Failing to do so is considered just cause for removal or disassociation from SRI.

Associate Confidentiality

All SRI associate information is considered confidential and may not be disclosed without express consent. Any associate disclosing or misusing associate information is subject to the immediate removal of access to the SRI database and forums.

Associate Accountability

All SRI associates are expected to answer questions regarding their self-assigned reports or SRI-associated avenues of research in a professional and timely manner. In the event of geographical issues, when possible, report sharing should be taken into consideration on any submitted report. Associates will not hoard reports. Associates are expected to self-assign only those reports they can investigate in the time frame as described by the investigation guidelines.

Associate Self-Expression

No associate of SRI is expected to withhold their opinion on any matter, whether on SRI websites, on other websites, or in any discussion forum. It is hoped that associates will discuss topics in a professional manner, but sometimes this will not be possible. In these cases associates are expected to remember that their opinion is their own and not necessarily that of SRI as a whole.

Investigative Accuracy

All reports are subject to spell- and grammar-checking, including the investigator’s commentary. At no time is the original wording or content of a submitted report to be changed for publication on the SRI website, except to maintain witness confidentiality. However, associates of SRI who maintain and take reports for their own website or newsletter may change or edit the narrative of the submitter based on facts relevant to the actual sighting, at their discretion, for publication on their preferred media outside of SRI.

Ownership of Associate Work Not Submitted to SRI

Research, projects, or investigations brought by incoming SRI associates, those not generated by SRI sources, or works not submitted to SRI for publication are the sole property of the investigator(s) involved, and are not required or expected to be disclosed in any manner to SRI or any affiliate. Such investigations or research may, at the discretion of the associate, be submitted to SRI for review and publication, but submission of such work is neither expected nor required. SRI, however, encourages the widest possible inclusion of research from associates and others. SRI recognizes that some investigations or situations require the strictest confidence or permission from the originating source, and honors the decisions made by its independent associates in these cases.

Ownership of Work Submitted to SRI from External Sources

Any evidence or report submitted to SRI from outside the SRI web submission form or other SRI-sponsored avenues, and the subsequent investigation of such reports or evidence, are the sole property of the investigator or researcher to whom it was entrusted. Credit for such work will be given to the individual or group responsible for the submission.