4.00.22 Responsible Conduct in Research Training |
 Printable Version |
Approved on: 11/04/2009
By: Administrative Council
Effective Date: 11/04/2009
Policy Summary
Georgia State University (GSU) is committed to promoting research ethics within the University community and modeling integrity across all disciplines and areas of empirical research. As research has become more complex, collaborative, and costly, issues of research ethics similarly have become complex, extensive, and important. The federally mandated training of all levels of research students at GSU in the Responsible Conduct of Research must prepare them to face these issues in their professional lives. The Scholarship and Research Integrity (SARI) program at GSU, developed in response to the America Competes Act requirements, is designed to offer students enrolled in undergraduate research, research graduate degree programs, and postdoctoral research programs comprehensive training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in a manner that is tailored to address the issues faced by students in their respective programs.
Applicability/Eligibility
Faculty
Students
Administration of Policy
Mandating Authority:
Administrative Council
Responsible Office(s):
Senate Committee on Research
University Research Services and Administration (Dalberg Hall, 3-3500)
Responsible Executive(s): Vice President for Research
| Position Title | Campus Location | Phone Number and/or E-mail Address |
|---|---|---|
| University Research Services and Administration | 216 Alumni Hall | 404-413-3500 |
Full Policy Text
- During the first year of enrollment, graduate research students and postdoctoral research fellows will be required to complete an online RCR training program provided by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). The Office of Research Integrity at GSU provides the portal on the GSU web site: http://www.gsu.edu/research/research_integrity.html. This online CITI training course is being adopted widely by research universities to help meet the federal requirement for RCR training, and it includes discipline-specific training modules with a number of foci, including: biomedical, social and behavioral, physical science, arts & humanities, and research administration. Postdoctoral research fellows, plus all undergraduate research students listed on IRB or IACUC protocols or who work on empirical research projects for course credit (e.g., honors thesis, research practicum), as student assistants, or as volunteers, are also required to complete the CITI online training.
- To meet federal expectations that graduate student and postdoctoral research fellows´ RCR training employ multiple approaches, research students (i.e., research graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows) will also be required to engage in at least 5 hours of additional discussion-based RCR education prior to degree completion. These discussions will encompass both universal and discipline-specific material.
Rationale or Purpose
The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (America Competes - 2007) includes a requirement that each institution applying for funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) "describe in its grant proposal a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduate research students, research graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in the proposed research project." This requirement is also being adopted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In terms of research graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows, the federal agencies expect that training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) will be required of all students enrolled in degree programs for which the training is appropriate and will employ multiple approaches.
Policy History
None
Cross References
None
Additional Information
Additional Helpful Resources
Procedures
None