This report provides administrators, project leaders, and researchers with information about major federal regulations governing research in the social sciences. The report is presented in five major chapters. Chapter I identifies the report's limitations. For example, it describes only statutory and regulatory provisions and covers only domestic research issues. Chapter II reviews the Federal Reports Act which governs the process of information creation and collection by federal agencies. Two sections discuss the Act's ramifications for research sponsored by executive federal agencies and by independent federal regulatory agencies. Chapter III summarizes regulations protecting the human subject during data collection. It specifically focuses on issues of human subjects at risk, informed consent, prisoner research, research involving children, and educational and social science research. Regulations concerning storage and disclosure of data are reviewed in chapter IV. These regulations include the Privacy Act of 1974, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act. Chapter V reviews sanctions for non-compliance under the Federal Reports Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, alcohol abuse research, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare human subject regulations, and research sponsored by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. (AV)