Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RCR/RECR) : Research and Engagement : UMass Amherst

"Adherence to the highest ethical and moral standards in the conduct of research and scholarly activity is the expectation for all members of the University of Massachusetts community. Each campus shall establish and submit to the President's office for approval procedures to promote research integrity through the responsible conduct of research as well as procedures for pursuing investigations of allegations of scientific misconduct. Research Misconduct means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, reporting, or reviewing research, not including honest error or difference of opinion (UMass Trustee Doc. T08-010)

Responsible Ethical Conduct of Research (RCR/RECR) is the ongoing process of reconciling regulations, guidelines, standards, and ethics to promote integrity in the proposing, planning, conducting, reporting, and reviewing of research. Integrity in scholarship and research is one of the university’s fundamental values.

Until recently, RCR/RECR focused primarily on research misconduct, defined by the themes of data fabrication and plagiarism. Today RCR/RECR is viewed as a much broader set of guiding principles and behaviors on topics including, but not limited to:

Plagiarism
Authorship
Collaborative Research
Conflicts of Interest
Data Management
Mentoring
Peer Review
Research Misconduct
Research Security and Transparency

CITI training in Responsible Conduct of Research Training is available to everyone with an active UMass Amherst NetID.

Responsible Conduct of Research Training

For assistance with RCR/RECR, contact Melinda LeLacheur, UMass Amherst RCR Coordinator, at melindal@research.edu or 413-545-5283, or Teams Chat.

Sponsor Specific Requirements

USDA — National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

The National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) requires program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in a NIFA research project (including capacity (formula) funds) receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR) and that documentation of such training is maintained and available upon request. The RCR training requirement can be found on page 9 of the NIFA Grant Agreement Terms and Conditions.

In accordance with sections 2, 3, and 8 of 2 CFR Part 422, institutions that conduct USDA-funded extramural research must foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and maintain and effectively communicate and train its staff regarding policies and procedure. By accepting a NIFA award, the grantee assures that program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in the research project receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research.

UMass Amherst Plan for Meeting the NIFA RECR Requirement

All faculty, principal investigators, co-principal investigators, graduate students, undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff who are participating in a research project funded by a grant awarded by NIFA to UMass Amherst directly or as a subrecipient are required to complete the Responsible Conduct of Research (RECR) training offered online through the CITI Program.

How can the Training requirement be met?

The RCR Basic Course offered online through the CITI Program covers all essential RECR topics.

Additional Details:

PIs are responsible for notifying personnel meeting the definition above of the RECR training requirement.
RECR training must be completed within 30 days of appointment to the NIFA-funded project.
The Office of Research Compliance will send notifications to PIs once a NIFA award is made, reminding them of the RECR training requirements.
The Office of Research Compliance will also send email reminders to PIs who have personnel on a NIFA award that have not completed RECR Training.
PIs must demonstrate that they have taken all necessary steps to inform personnel participating in NIFA funded research of this requirement and ensure compliance.
The PI is responsible for keeping records of completion (CITI-provided certificate) which can be presented in the event of audit or NIFA request for verification of compliance.

RCR Training Exceptions:

If the PI believes that an NIFA funded individual does not meet the RECR requirements (i.e: the individual is not conducting or participating in the research, conference, travel, workshop, or symposium specific award), they may request to have the RCR requirement removed. In such cases the PI must email Melinda LeLacheur, RCR Coordinator at @email.

Resources:

National Institute of Health (NIH)

“Responsible conduct of research is defined as the practice of scientific investigation with integrity. It involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research.” ( NOT-OD-10-019)

The NIH policy, first updated in 2010 under NOT-OD-10-019, requires all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, or dissertation research grant must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research. This includes the following programs: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R. This policy also applies to any other NIH-funded programs supporting research training, career development, or research education that require instruction in responsible conduct of research as stated in the relevant funding opportunity announcements.

In late 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Research Integrity (ORI) gathered feedback from the research community about best practices, challenges, and needs related to teaching RCR and promoting research integrity. As a result, NIH issued revised guidance on instructional format, frequency and timing and subject matter of RCR training (NOT-OD-22-055). Discussion-based instruction in the responsible conduct of research remains a key feature of RCR training and should include substantive face-to-face interaction among participants and faculty.

Note: Conflict of Interest disclosures is also a term and condition of NIH funding.

Who needs RCR training?

Trainees, fellow, participants and scholars meeting the definition above.

How can this training requirement be met?

Substantial face-to-face discussions among the participating trainees/fellows/scholars/participants; a combination of didactic and small-group discussions (e.g. case studies); and participation of research training faculty members in instruction in responsible conduct of research are highly encouraged. Eight (8) hours of instruction is required. For Information regarding instructional format, frequency and timing, and subject matter, see NIH OD-22-055
Subject matter must include the following (topics and bold were updated in 2022):
1. conflict of interest – personal, professional, and financial – and conflict of commitment, in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
2. policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
3. mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
4. safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
5. collaborative research, including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
6. peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
7. 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
8. secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
9. research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
10. responsible authorship and publication
11. the scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research
Online CITI training can only be used to supplement the 8 hours.
The Dilemma Game App is an open resource developed by Erasmus University Rotterdam. It is designed to help facilitate open in-person research integrity discussions and includes individual, small group, and lecture modes.

CITI Webinars:

The Dilemma Game App: How to Facilitate a Discussion on Research Integrity
Facilitating Synchronous RCR Training Session
To watch CITI webinars, enter the online platform. Instructions can be found here.

Resources:

NOT-OD-10-019: Update on the Requirement for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research
Conduct of Research
ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research, Nicholas H. Steneck
ORI Integrity in Scientific Research Videos
RCR Education Materials (University of Illinois Urbana Champaign)

National Science Foundation (NSF)

The National Science Foundation (NSF), by mandate of the United States Congress in the America Competes Act, Section 7009 and the CHIPS + Science Act, section 10337, requires all faculty, senior personnel, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students supported by NSF funding to receive training in the responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR). Prior to 7/31/2023 this requirement only applied to postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students.

Note: Conflict of Interest disclosures are also a term and condition of NSF funding.

Who needs RCR training?

Faculty, senior personnel, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students who meet the definition listed above.

How can this training requirement be met?

The University of Massachusetts Amherst continues to contract with CITI to provide online RECR/RCR training to fulfill this requirement. The personnel listed above must pass this course as soon as possible once the proposal is submitted, but no later than 30 days after the award is made. The amended requirements also stipulate that RECR training must include the subject of mentor training and mentorship. CITI has strengthened the mentoring module within its RCR course accordingly.
Instructions can be found here.

Additional details:

Principal Investigators have the primary responsibility for notifying their NSF-funded personnel about this requirement and ensuring that it is completed.
PIs must include RECR training in the job description and among the listed job duties.
All training must be completed within 30 days of appointment to the NSF-funded project.
PIs must demonstrate that they have taken all necessary steps to inform the NSF-funded personnel of this requirement, ensure compliance, and keep records of completion (CITI-provided certificate) in the event of audit or NSF request for verification of compliance.
The Office of Research Compliance will remind PIs when an award is received and notify them if personnel have not yet completed the training.
Individuals should choose whichever course most closely aligns with their area of research.
All certificates of completion should be sent to the PI.

For help with any of the following questions and others, contact Melinda LeLacheur, RCR Coordinator, at @email.

How can I find out if I have taken the correct CITI course?
I have looked over the materials and am having some trouble navigating the CITI platform. Who can help me enroll in CITI, navigate the platform, and/or figure out which course to take?
I am a PI or supporting Admin and need to check to see if the required personnel has completed the training. Is there someone I can ask?

Resources:

Additional Resources