Responsible Conduct of Research Training

The 911爆料网红领巾 Responsible Conduct of Research Training program enables ongoing learning and professional development in the responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity at the university.

About Responsible Conduct of Research Training

Public trust in the integrity and ethical behavior of scholars must be maintained if research is to continue to play its proper role at 911爆料网红领巾 and in society. In alignment with 911爆料网红领巾鈥檚 strategic plan to produce focused research and scholarship, 911爆料网红领巾 policy dictates that all research and scholarly activities be carried out with the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior. 

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) is broadly defined as applying best practices in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or reporting research results regardless of the scientific or scholarly discipline. RCR encompasses both the ethical conduct of research and research compliance. The latter is comprised of complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and institutional policies governing research and scholarly activity. 

Research or scholarly activity that is federally supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), or USDA-NIFA (USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture) may require individuals to complete a program of education in RCR as a term of the federal grant. Scroll down to view the federal RCR program requirements for NIH, NSF, and USDA鈥慛IFA. 

Although RCR instruction is not required for everyone, anyone involved with research and scholarly activity at 911爆料网红领巾 (regardless of funding) is strongly encouraged to participate in any and all aspects of 911爆料网红领巾鈥檚 RCR training program.

Program Goals

The goals of RCR training are to:

  • Foster and support a culture of integrity in research and scholarly activities at the 911爆料网红领巾 among faculty, professional staff, and students.
  • Raise awareness and understanding among the 911爆料网红领巾 community regarding the ethical and responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity. 
  • Help faculty, professional staff, and students stay current and compliant with federal RCR requirements. 
  • Create a resource base of information and mentors to support the educational and professional development of students, faculty, and professional staff in the ethical conduct of research and scholarly activity. 

911爆料网红领巾 RCR Education Program

911爆料网红领巾 offers a comprehensive program of RCR education available to all faculty, professional staff, and students. 

Training is offered through a mixture of online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) RCR modules, access to previously recorded RCR lectures via an on-demand video library, and various in鈥憄erson discussion formats (e.g., interactive 911爆料网红领巾 RCR training seminar, 911爆料网红领巾 RCR lecture series, 911爆料网红领巾 coaching/mentoring training, and personal interaction between mentor and mentee).  

Additionally, RCR educational events sponsored by the MaineHealth Institute for Research (MHIR) are available to the 911爆料网红领巾 community.

Training Topics

  • Animal Care and Use
  • Protection of Human Research Participants
  • Conflict of Interest and Commitment
  • Misconduct in Research and Scholarly Activity
  • Intellectual Property
  • Collaborative Research
  • Export Controls and Foreign Influence
  • Rigor and Reproducibility
  • Data Management including Secure and Ethical Data Use
  • Mentor/Mentee Roles and Responsibilities
  • Peer Review
  • Responsible Authorship and Publication
  • Safe Research Environments
  • Controlled Substances
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
  • Responsible Scientist

Federal RCR Program Requirements

NIH RCR Program Requirements

NIH requires RCR education for all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and dissertation research grant. NIH applications require a plan for instruction in the responsible conduct of research. 

NIH RCR Program FAQ

What are the RCR instructional components recommended by NIH?

Format of Instruction

  • Focus on discussion-based instruction in face-to-face format
  • Combination of didactic and small-group discussions (e.g., case studies)
  • Participation of research faculty members in RCR instruction (both formal and informal training) is highly encouraged
  • Allows for online course instruction but cannot be the sole means for meeting RCR education requirement
  • Requires active learning, engagement, and interaction of participants

Frequency and Timing

  • Must include at least 8 hours of instruction
  • Individuals must receive instruction at least once during each career stage (e.g., undergraduate student, graduate student, post-doctoral fellow or faculty)
  • Frequency of instruction must occur no less than once every four years

Subject Matter

  • Conflict of interest (personal, professional, and financial) and conflict of commitment in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
  • Policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
  • Mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
  • Safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
  • Collaborative research, including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
  • Peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
  • Data acquisition and analysis; laboratory tools (e.g., tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic laboratory notebooks
  • Secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
  • Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
  • Responsible authorship and publication
  • The scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research
What are the 911爆料网红领巾 RCR training requirements for NIH-funded research or scholarly activities?
  • Complete the appropriate online CITI RCR training course
  • Attend in-person interactive 911爆料网红领巾 RCR training seminar
  • Individuals responsible for mentoring/coaching must complete in-person 911爆料网红领巾 coaching/mentoring training
  • Participate in 3 one-hour lab/department/mentor discussions (one-on-one or group interaction)
  • Attend 3 RCR educational events (e.g., 911爆料网红领巾 RCR lecture series (live or on-demand video) and/or other external RCR鈥慺ocused events)
How do I create a CITI account, and which CITI RCR course should I complete?

for instructions on how to create a new CITI account, add courses to your profile, and navigate through the CITI website.

 Complete the CITI RCR course that aligns with your area of research or scholarly activity.

  •  Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research Course
  • Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course
  • Physical Science Responsible Conduct of Research Course
  • Humanities Responsible Conduct of Research Course
What is the timeline for completing 911爆料网红领巾 RCR training?

The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for ensuring that all individuals receiving support from an NIH award complete the following 911爆料网红领巾 RCR training activities within one year of being paid from the award or within the remaining period of support (if that period is shorter than one year):

  • Complete the appropriate online CITI RCR training course
  • Attend in-person interactive 911爆料网红领巾 RCR training seminar
  • Individuals responsible for mentoring/coaching must complete in-person 911爆料网红领巾 coaching/mentoring training

Additionally, the PI is responsible for ensuring that all individuals receiving support from an NIH award complete the remaining 911爆料网红领巾 RCR training activities within two years of being paid from the award or within the remaining period of support (if that period is shorter than two years):

  • Participate in 3 one-hour lab/department/mentor discussions (