Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
WVU Responsible Conduct of Research Requirement
West Virginia University (WVU) offers the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Course for researchers who wish to take it by directive or voluntarily. For those researchers, staff, and students who have taken the CITI human and/or animal research protections courses, the process and format are the same. The CITI RCR Course can be found at the following website: https://www.citiprogram.org/Default.asp?. Once one is at the site it is a simple matter of Registering if new to CITI, or if already registered with CITI under WVU, then simply Login with your Username and Password. Follow the directions after that which will take you to the RCR course.
For questions, concerns, and inquiries please contact Jonathan Young in the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance by e-mail at Jonathan.Young@mail.wvu.edu or by phone at (304) 293-1119.
RCR Rationale
Over the last decade, research compliance and the responsible conduct of research have received increasing attention and responsive action from the scientific community. The broad forces behind that heightened consideration are the increasing potential rewards that can be garnered from innovation and the changing scale of research. The more specific driving factors are an increase in regulatory requirements, the influence of publicized compliance breakdowns at institutions of higher education, and heightened scrutiny from the media, advocacy groups and government. An added element is the idealistic desire of many scientists to attain a high ethical standard while practicing what many perceive as humanity’s best hope for advancement to a more supportive and fulfilling existence, namely the scientific enterprise. The practical side of all this reflection and action can be summarized in a line from the recent National Academies publication Integrity in Scientific Research: “The public will support science only if it can trust the scientists and institutions that conduct research.”
However, trust has to be thought of in its broadest sense and not just applicable to the individual research practitioner. Research institutions will only flourish when those who support them and ultimately make use of their product, i.e., the public, have high regard for their ways and means. Many academic institutions such as WVU have internalized this insight and have expanded their responsible conduct of research (RCR) training programs concomitantly to meet the needs of a more demanding and competitive era. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have had an RCR education and training requirement in place for their training grants for nearly two decades, and WVU has offered courses to meet that requirement. The new initiatives are in response to recent federal requirements but are in keeping with the University’s avowed commitment to academic integrity as specified in its Academic Integrity Committee Policy to be found at: http://www.wvu.edu/~lawfac/mmcdiarmid/aic/Final%20RIC%20Policy%20WVU%205-9-11.pdf
Resources:
1. Office of Research Integrity: http://ori.dhhs.gov/
2. Sigma Xi Academic Research Society: http://www.sigmaxi.org/index.shtml
3. Online Ethics (National Academy of Engineering): http://www.onlineethics.org/
4. National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf10_1/aag_4.jsp