Welcome to UNCW's Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Home Page.

Links above and on the left can take you to specific topics, such as research with human subjects (IRB), research with live, vertebrate animals (IACUC), conflcits of interest, and export controls. General information and resources about the responsible conduct of research can be found below.

RCR AT UNCW

(From the Introduction to UNCW's Research Misconduct Policy) Each member of the university community has a responsibility to create and foster an environment promoting intellectual honesty and the highest standards of academic integrity. Research misconduct constitutes unacceptable personal conduct with respect to scholarship and research. Disdain for misconduct in any aspect of research or scholarly endeavor must be upheld, as misconduct in any form is destructive of the standards the university attempts to instill in its students, the public perception of academia and academic disciplines, and the financial support of the government and other sponsors for scholarship and research.

See Full UNCW Research Misconduct Policy

NEW! RCR Online Training Course through CITI

UNCW now has access to an excellent resource for RCR training through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) at the University of Miami. Members of the UNCW community may register for the online Responsible Conduct of Research course, which includes topics like Responsible Authorship, Mentoring, Data Aquisition and Management, Conflicts of Interest and Research Misconduct. This course can be used to supplement classroom content or to improve RCR knowledge for anyone working in research labs.

See the bottom of this page for a link to the CITI website and instructions on how to properly register for the RCR course.

THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH INTEGRITY (ORI)

ORI is a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services that promotes integrity in research. Researchers can find valuable RCR resources on the ORI website, just of few of which are highlighted below:

RCR Education Resources

Resources for Handling Misconduct

ORI Introduction to RCR, by Nicholas Steneck, PhD (Following is an excerpt from this publication.)

With growing public support for research has come an understandable concern about the way it is conducted. Public funds support roughly one-third of all research and development (R&D) in the U.S. and half of all basic research. Many researchers, therefore, spend a significant portion of their time working for the public. As public servants and also professionals, researchers have clear obligations to conduct their research in a responsible manner.

In general terms, responsible conduct in research is simply good citizenship applied to professional life. Researchers who report their work honestly, accurately, efficiently, and objectively are on the right road when it comes to responsible conduct. Anyone who is dishonest, knowingly reports inaccurate results, wastes funds, or allows personal bias to influence scientific findings is not.

There is no one best way to undertake research, no universal method that applies to all scientific investigations. Accepted practices for the responsible conduct of research can and do vary from discipline to discipline and even from laboratory to laboratory. There are, however, some important shared values for the responsible conduct of research that bind all researchers together, such as:

• HONESTY — conveying information truthfully and honoring commitments,
• ACCURACY— reporting findings precisely and taking care to avoid errors,
• EFFICIENCY— using resources wisely and avoiding waste, and
• OBJECTIVITY— letting the facts speak for themselves and avoiding improper bias.

At the very least, responsible research is research that is built on a commitment to these and other important values that define what is meant by integrity in research.

REGISTERING FOR THE RCR COURSE ON CITI:

Go To: CITI Website

- - - INSTRUCTIONS- - -

New Learners:

1. If you never registered before on the CITI site, register as a New User.
2. Please choose the University of North Carolina Wilmington as the participating institution and select the Submit button.
3. Make note of your username and password, as it may take you multiple sessions to complete all of the required modules.
4. Submit your name and email address.
5. Choose the Responsible Conduct of Research course.
6. The program requires you to select a role in human subjects or animal welfare research. This cannot be blank, so choose the most appropriate role (can be research assistant, student researcher, etc.) The role you select will not change the course content.
7. On the "Select Curriculum" page, scroll to the bottom of the page to Question 4, "Responsible Conduct of Research".
8. Choose the most appropriate version of the course for your profession or field of study (Biomedical Research, Social and Behavioral Research, Physical Science)
9. The system will ask if you want to affiliate with an institution other than UNCW. Most users will select "No".
10. You will now see your Learner's Menu. Select "Enter" to begin the RCR course.
11. You must achieve an overall score of 80% in order to qualify for a completion certificate.
12. We recommend that you retain a copy of your completion certificate for your records. You are not required to submit a completion certificate to ORSSP. However, if you have been assigned to take this course by your professor or a principal investigator of a research project, the professor/PI may want to see a copy of your completion certificate.

If you have already completed a course on CITI:

1. Login to CITI with the same username and password you used previously. If you do not remember your username or password, CITI may be able to assist you.
2. After you login, you will see your learner's menu. Select "Add a Course or Update Your Learner Group".
3. Select "Update Groups"
4. Scroll down to the end of the page to Question 4, "Responsible Conduct of Research Course".
5. Choose the most appropriate version of the course for your profession or field of study (Biomedical Research, Social and Behavioral Research, Physical Science)
6. The RCR course will now appear with any other topics you've completed.
7. Select "Go Back to Learner's Menu". RCR should now appear under "My Courses".
8. Select "Enter" to begin the RCR course.
9. You must achieve an overall score of 80% in order to qualify for a completion certificate.
10. We recommend that you retain a copy of your completion certificate for your records. You are not required to submit a completion certificate to ORSSP. However, if you have been assigned to take this course by your professor or a principal investigator of a research project, the professor/PI may want to see a copy of your completion certificate.

Maintained by MJ Carver ()
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