Program Overview

Responsible Conduct of Research Training

The ethical and responsible conduct of research is an obligation fundamental to the process of scholarly inquiry. It benefits the entire LSU community to ensure that everyone engaged in scholarly work has received appropriate and rigorous training in matters pertaining to the ethical and responsible conduct of research.

LSU provides access to Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). Faculty, staff, and students can take courses on general RCR topics as well as topics specific to faculty in Biomedical, Social & Behavioral, Physical Science, Humanities, or Engineering research, as well as for administrators who need to understand RCR training.

Agency Requirements

National Institutes of Health (NIH) RCR Requirement

NIH requires that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and dissertation research grant must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research. The requirements are found in NOT-OD-10-019 and apply to all new and renewal applications submitted on or after January 25, 2010, and for all continuation (Type 5) applications with deadlines on or after January 1, 2011.

• The Notice applies to 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.

Format of Instruction

Discussion-based instruction in the responsible conduct of research is expected to be a key feature of RCR training and to include substantive face-to-face interaction among participants and faculty. Video conferencing may be incorporated into RCR instruction; however, "video conferencing should not be the sole means for meeting the requirement for RCR instruction, and a plan that employs only video conferencing will not be considered acceptable, except in the circumstances described in NOT-OD-10-019, such as short-term research training and research education programs."

Frequency and Timing

Instruction must be undertaken at least once during each career stage, and at a frequency of no less than once every four years. Consideration should be given to tailoring the approach and instruction to the career stages of those participating. RCR programs generally involve at least eight contact hours.

Subject Matter

The following topics will be included in most acceptable RCR plans:

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); record-keeping 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.

LSU Requirement

LSU requires that all Principal Investigators (PIs), as well as all other faculty, staff, and students required to complete instruction in RCR, maintain appropriate records and documentation regarding their RCR training.

National Science Foundation (NSF) RCR Requirement

In compliance with the amended NSF Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training requirement stemming from section 7009 of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 1862o-1), LSU has adopted a revised implementation and oversight plan to ensure appropriate instruction in the responsible conduct of research for undergraduate, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and other senior personnel who will be supported by NSF to conduct research.

The training to meet the RCR requirement for relevant members of the LSU community will be attained via the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. There are six discipline-specific RCR courses, and it is up to the Principal Investigator to determine which of these is most appropriate for the students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, or other senior personnel who are supported by NSF to conduct research on this project.

• Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Physical Science Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Humanities Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Responsible Conduct of Research for Engineers
• Responsible Conduct of Research for Administrators

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture RCR Requirement

USDA's NIFA requires training in responsible conduct of research for program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in the research project. NIFA requires that documentation of training be maintained and that it is subject to NIFA review upon request.

The training to meet the RCR requirement for relevant members of the LSU community will be attained via the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. There are six discipline-specific modules, and it is up to the Principal Investigator to determine which of these is most appropriate for his/her faculty, students, staff, or postdoctoral scholars that participate in the research project.

• Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Physical Science Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Humanities Responsible Conduct of Research Course
• Responsible Conduct of Research for Engineers
• Responsible Conduct of Research for Administrators

It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure that all covered parties are in compliance with the RCR requirements. Once the PI determines which module is most appropriate for individuals associated with the project, the following procedures should be followed:

1. The PI will develop and maintain a list of all program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in the research project.
2. The PI will instruct the persons on this list to register for and receive RCR certification through the CITI Program within 90 days of beginning work on the project or before the end of the project, whichever comes first.
3. Upon successful certification, registrants should print out the completion certificate and provide a copy to the PI.
4. The PI will complete the USDA NIFA Responsible Conduct of Training Form and attach copies of the CITI certificates.