ACDIS’ “Hierarchy of Authority” of published articles

ACDIS is a community that welcomes idea sharing, networking, creative problem solving, and free and open speech and debate. As a result, we publish many papers, articles, news briefs, and informal commentary across our website. The question some members ask is: What articles represent ACDIS’ official stance, guidance, or advice on a particular question or issue?

To answer this question, we have established a “Hierarchy of Authority” detailing which articles are considered official ACDIS advice or guidance, and which are not. The most authoritative “ACDIS endorsed” publications are listed first.

1. ACDIS Position Papers: ACDIS Position Papers are the association’s official, consensus stance on an issue. ACDIS Position Papers set a recommended standard for the CDI industry to follow. They advocate on behalf of a certain position or offer concrete solutions for a particular problem. All current members of the ACDIS Advisory Board must review/approve a Position Paper and are encouraged to materially contribute to its creation. You can find ACDIS Position Papers here: https://acdis.org/resources?type=12
2. ACDIS White Papers: White Papers are next in the ACDIS hierarchy of authority. An ACDIS white paper discusses CDI best practice, advances new ideas, increases knowledge, or offers suggestions for administrative simplification. These can be written by a single ACDIS Advisory Board member, a smaller subset of the board, or can be written by external sources (when they are, they are clearly labelled as such). White Papers are less formal than a Position Paper but are peer-reviewed. You can find ACDIS White Papers here: https://acdis.org/resources?type=14
3. CDI Journal: Articles in our bi-monthly members-only CDI Journal are subject to editorial review and extensive editing prior to publication. But unless otherwise noted they do not represent official ACDIS recommendation or policy. ACDIS’ CDI Journal strives to use a variety of sources in its articles to ensure fair and accurate coverage. Occasionally the CDI Journal publishes opinion pieces and columns from industry experts. We strive to clearly mark these as such, and advice provided is general in nature and CDI staff should review the information to ensure compliance. While ACDIS Advisory Board members frequently write articles for CDI Journal the opinions expressed represent their own, not those of the association. You can find current and archived issues of CDI Journal here: https://acdis.org/articles/archive?publication=1
4. CDI Strategies: Unless otherwise noted CDI Strategies articles are summations of relevant news articles, recaps of local chapter activity, notifications of articles or downloads to the ACDIS website, or Q&As with industry representatives. These are curated, edited, and uploaded by ACDIS editorial staff but not peer-reviewed. You can find an archive of CDI Strategies articles here: https://acdis.org/articles/archive?publication=2
5. Forum posts, comments, and social media: Posts in ACDIS Forum, comments appended to the end of articles (via our Disqus plug-in) or on ACDIS Blog, and posts or replies to ACDIS social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are automatically assumed to be the opinions of the person posting the comment. Inappropriate or offensive posts will be removed.

To sum up, unless an article is a Position Paper, or an ACDIS White Paper (i.e., a White Paper written or approved by the ACDIS advisory board, not from an outside source), it is not considered official ACDIS guidance.

General note regarding articles on this website

Please note that ACDIS is an association of professionals governed by an elected advisory board and administrators. It is not a regulatory body. As in all matters, please refer to your manager, compliance department, and/or legal counsel before implementing changes or altering your organization’s policies and procedures.