Responsible Conduct of Research

Recent national headlines citing cases of misconduct in research involving fabrication, falsification, and/or plagiarism highlight the importance of instilling a strong ethical foundation in student researchers from the earliest stages of their academic careers.

To ensure that researchers have such a foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) require undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers working on federally funded projects to complete training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). ASU’s Operating Policy 56.13 describes the university’s plan to comply with these requirements.

ASU has purchased a subscription to the CITI ethics training modules, including RCR courses, to comply with the federal requirements. Students, faculty, and staff engaged in research across the entire spectrum of scientific disciplines, including social and behavioral sciences, life sciences, physical sciences, and others, have full access to the CITI courses. Please contact the Office of Sponsored Projects at osp@angelo.edu to obtain instructions for accessing the CITI RCR courses.

Additional Free RCR Training Resources

• Read the National Academy of Sciences’ short monograph, On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research©
• Check out the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity’s interactive online movie, The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct