REsources

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) is the practice of scientific investigation with integrity. NSF requires that every student doing RII Track-1 research must take RCR training prior to working on the project. The PI also requires that every faculty member doing RII Track-1 research must also take RCR training to gain firsthand knowledge of what is required of their students. (NSF also requires this training for postdocs; however, there are not postdocs on ND EPSCoR’s NSF RII Track-1 ND-ACES award.) RCR Training is valid for the duration of the award. Required by NSF since 2010 and by the ND University system since 2017, RCR involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research. RCR is simply good citizenship applied to professional life. According to the ND State Board of Higher Education Policy Manual, Section 410.0, the RCR policy applies to institutions that receive external funding or support for research, with “support” defined to include “nonmonetary provision or access to equipment, supplies, or lab space by paid or unpaid research participants.” RCR encompasses nine areas: 1) research misconduct; 2) human participants; 3) research involving animals; 4) data acquisition, management, sharing, and ownership; 5) mentor/trainee responsibilities; 6) publication practices and responsible authorship; 7) peer review; 8) collaborative science; and 9) conflicts of interest.

 

Training and Management

All participants will need to load their RCR training certificate of completion to ERcore.

MCU/PUI/TCU participants

• Follow the RCR protocols of your campus. If no RCR training protocols currently exist at your institution, you may contact the ND EPSCoR State Office with questions: Kathy Wahlberg at kathleen.wahlberg@ndsu.edu or (701) 231-8618.

NDSU participants

• May take RCR training online by logging in through NDSU on the CITI website at https://about.citiprogram.org/. See the NDSU Research Integrity and Compliance page at https://www.ndsu.edu/research/for_researchers/research_integrity_and_compliance/ to access more information on RCR training.

• May contact the ND EPSCoR State Office with questions: Kathy Wahlberg at kathleen.wahlberg@ndsu.edu or (701) 231-8618.

UND participants

• May take RCR training online by logging in through UND on the CITI website at https://about.citiprogram.org/.

• May contact the UND ND EPSCoR RCR contact with questions: Devona Janousek at devona.janousek@und.edu or (701) 777-2511.