What is Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR)?
The term "responsible and ethical conduct of research" encompasses important shared principles of honesty, accuracy, efficiency and objectivity that guide research. These shared principles are equally applicable to scholarly endeavors and creative activities that may not be typically associated with the strict definition of research.
As research has advanced, issues of research integrity have received substantial public attention. Cases of researchers falsifying and fabricating results, unearned authorship and instances of plagiarism have all been featured in recent news. Additional RECR topics of concern are: Data Management, Mentoring, Peer Review, Research Security and Transparency and Collaborative Research. In order to strengthen the integrity of research and creative scholarship, instruction in the responsible conduct of research must be considered a vital part of research and creative scholarship.
RECR at Appalachian
Increasingly, federal laws and regulations are mandating RCR education. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires that institutions have a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in RECR to senior investigators, faculty, research staff, undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers participating in supported projects. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires RCR training for anyone associated with a research project.
All faculty, research staff and students participating in NSF-funded projects, NIH-funded projects, or USDA-NIFA-funded projects must complete RECR training.
Please refer to the chart below for guidance, training requirements and sponsor regulations.
Federal Sponsor | Delivery method | Personnel required to do RCR Training | Federal guidelines |
Online training- CITI | Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers, Faculty and other Senior Personnel supported to conduct research | ||
Online training- CITI | Program Directors, Faculty, Undergraduate Students, Postdoctoral Scholars, any staff participating in a USDA NIFA research project | NIFA: U.S. Department of Agriculture | |
Face-to-face training and online training- CITI | 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 | NOT-OD-10-019: Update on the Requirement for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research |
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RECR Education
Although there is not a single best way to conduct research or pursue creative activities, several common core instructional areas in RECR have been identified:
- Data acquisition, management, sharing and ownership
- Human participants
- Animal welfare
- Conflict of interest and commitment
- Peer Review
- Publication practices and responsible authorship
- Collaboration
- Mentor/trainee relationships
- Research misconduct
- Intellectual property
- Lab safety