Responsible Conduct of Research Education
A strong commitment to research integrity is at the very core of New Mexico State University’s highly-regarded research program. The term research integrity includes not only the ideals of honesty, fairness, but also compliance with research guidelines and policies.
This site is intended to provide a starting point for locating NMSU resources related to Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) education. It is expected that the guidance here will be used by all NMSU researchers, whether faculty, staff, graduate students or undergraduate students, whether their research is or is not funded by an outside agency, or whether it is or is not intended for publication. Researchers at all experience levels will find information about NMSU policies and procedures concerning research integrity, including specialized areas of concern for particular disciplines and for research involving work with human subjects or vertebrate animal subjects. The site also contains information about university courses including material on ethics, seminars conducted on campus, online training courses, and other sources of authoritative guidance concerning the responsible conduct of research.
Principal investigators should find applicable requirements from funding agencies regarding RCR education and tools to facilitate both meeting those requirements and documenting their completion. Several Federal agencies have issued regulations (listed under “Agency Requirements” below) regarding the training of students involved in projects they have sponsored. The “NMSU Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training Plan/Procedures” below are intended to assist faculty principal investigators in meeting those requirements. National Science Foundation (NSF) guidelines are applicable to all new proposals submitted or due beginning January 4, 2010. National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines are applicable to certain new proposals and renewals submitted or due beginning January 25, 1010.
This site is a collaborative effort among faculty researchers interested in facilitating excellence in responsible conduct of research education at NMSU and the office of the Vice President for Research Programs. Please contribute additional resources, comments or ideas for the site by email to rcr@research.nmsu.edu.
Although a codified national standard for the requirements for instruction in responsible conduct of research has not been established by any governing agency, the following topics are covered in most plans for RCR education:
research, and safe laboratory practices
issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts
of scientific research
Policies and Procedures
NMSU Policies and Procedures
•NMSU Policy 5.94: Research Policies(See specifically “Ethics as Related to Misconduct in Scholarship
and Research” on pages 4 and 5)
•NMSU Policies 3.21, 3.22: Conflicts of Interest
•NMSU Policies re: Human Subject Research
•NMSU Policies re: Use of Animals in Research
•NMSU Confidential Reporting Procedures: EthicsPoint
•Procedures adopted by the IACUC for Animal Subject Research
NMSU Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training Plan/Procedures
Agency Requirements
Training
Training Responsibilities
Institutional Responsibilities
an institutional responsible conduct of research (RCR) training plan is
in place to ensure that appropriate training in RCR is given to all
sponsored post doctoral researchers and students, graduate and
undergraduate, for whom such training is required. NSF defines
“sponsored” as those students funded through an NSF award, and
those using supplies and equipment provided through NSF awards.
•For those agencies (e.g. NIH) where this is appropriate, ensure that
the appropriate institutional RCR training plan is included within each
proposal.
•Ensure the faculty has the appropriate resources to be aware of funding
agency requirements and to provide appropriate RCR training for the
discipline and research setting of each sponsored project. This
includes
maintaining the RCR web site, the online core RCR curriculum, and IRB
and IACUC support.
•Maintain records (available for audit) documenting the RCR training
requirements imposed by each principal investigator in their award-specific
training plans, identifying sponsored students to whom the requirements
apply, and recording their appropriate training.
Principal Investigator Responsibilities
•Include the institutional plan in proposals where that is required by the
sponsoring agency (e.g. NIH). Include the appropriate certification in
proposals where that is required by the sponsoring agency (e.g. NSF).
•When an award including an RCR training requirement is received,
complete the award-specific training plan to specify the core training
courses (the series of online general RCR modules appropriate to the
research discipline , and where appropriate, the online IRB course
and/or the periodic IACUC seminars) required, and any additional
discipline or laboratory-specific requirements.
•Provide the RCR training requirements to all sponsored students.
•Provide RCR training as appropriate under the award-specific plan
prepared.
•Semi-annually, report (1) who were the sponsored students to whom
training requirements applied, and (2) how and when those
requirements were met by each.
Supported Post-Doctoral Researchers and Students Responsibilities
•Understand the RCR training requirements imposed by the award-specific
training plan developed by the principal investigator.
•Complete the specified training courses in a timely manner.
•Provide to the principal investigator documentation of training completed
(e.g. online training completion certificates).
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Required Core Courses
Basic Learner Instructions
Other Training Resources
•NMSU Office of Compliance training schedule
Web-based training courses
Other resources
•NMSU IRB RCR Presentation•The Office of Research Integrity's
Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research (online book)
•ORI Resources
•NMSU MBRS-RISE RCR Page
•NMSU MBRS-RISE Seminar Series
•NBER Plagiarism Education Study
•Environmental Protection Agency
•National Endowment for the Humanities
•Department of Education
•Department of Veterans Affairs
•Department of Transportation
•National Science Foundation (NSF)
•Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS/PHS)
•Department of Energy (DoE)
•Department of Labor
•National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)