Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research

All federal grantmaking agencies – including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health – require grantees to certify that they provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR, also referred to as RCR).

Training

To meet these requirements, Carleton utilizes CITI – Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative modules. Everyone involved in a federal grant – including but not limited to research trainees such as undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers – must complete this training at each career stage.

Online training modules, however, are insufficient to meet the federal requirements on their own. Given that most student research activity takes place over summer break, we hold an annual training event for students to kick off their summer research experiences. Prior to this event, which is hosted by the STEM Board, we ask that students complete the relevant CITI modules. SRPs then attend this 2-hour training in person, where they discuss case studies pertaining to ethical issues that may arise during research. Further discussions of these topics should take place during group meetings and with faculty mentors throughout the course of their research experiences.

All PIs on federal grants are responsible for ensuring that students working with them have completed the online curriculum and have received face-to-face instruction. For any questions, including what to do when students cannot attend the event in June, please reach out to the Compliance Officer. Further, all senior personnel on federal grants are now required by the America COMPETES Act and CHIPS and Science Act to receive training in the responsible conduct of research and training to mentor others in this area. To meet these requirements, faculty who are senior personnel on a federal grant must attend the same in-person SRP training event in June at least once during the lifetime of their grant (prior to extensions, and ideally early in the lifetime of their grant). They will be expected to complete the same CITI modules as their students prior to attending the in-person training event, in order to best engage with students on these topics.

Steps to access the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research training modules

Start by clicking on the “Register” button located in the blue Log In box to the right of the main homepage content at CITI.

1. In the “Select Your Organization Affiliation” section, type “Carleton” into the search box and select the “Carleton College” option; in that same section, click the “I AGREE” box and the affiliate affirmation box; and next “Continue to Step 2.”
2. Enter your first and last name along with your email address. Continue to Step 3.
3. Choose a username and password for your account. Please follow the on-screen instructions for the expected parameters of each field. Passwords are case sensitive. You’ll also select and answer a security question. Continue to Step 4.
4. Provide demographic information and ORCID iD (if required; this step is sometimes voluntary). Provide your country of residence. If there is a last question about participation in research surveys, answer as you desire. Continue to Step 5.
5. Select “No” to the item that addresses Continuing Education credits; this is not applicable to Carleton learners. Continue to Step 6.
6. Provide information requested by Carleton College. Note that a red * indicates a required field; the others you may leave blank. If you are a student, for “Department” input the department of your major. For “Role in Research” typically a student will choose “Student Researcher – Undergraduate”; usually a faculty or staff mentor will choose “Principal Investigator.” Continue to Step 7.
7. On this “Select Curriculum” page, go to “Question 3” and select the appropriate RCR choice (for students: “RCR for Undergraduate Researchers.” Select “Complete Registration” and “Finalize Registration.”

You will now be able to access the Main Menu of your account. Student researchers will select the “RCR for Undergraduate Researchers” link.

The “RCR for Undergraduate Researchers – Basic Course” includes 5 required modules and 2 elective modules. If the research involves animals, the elective module “Using Animal Subjects in Research” is required; if the research involves human subjects, the elective module “Research Involving Human Subjects” is required.

You will be asked to Complete The Integrity Assurance Statement before beginning the course and then be able to click on the required and supplemental modules appropriate to this training. Once you have completed a module, a completion date and score will appear in the appropriate row.

For further assistance, you may want to refer to the CITI Getting Started guide or watch the Getting Started video OR contact Charlotte Whited (cwhited or x5833).

On the “Select Curriculum” page, go to “Question 3” and select the appropriate RCR choice. Select “Complete Registration” and “Finalize Registration.” You will now be able to access the Main Menu of your account.

Student researchers will take “RCR for Undergraduate Researchers – Basic Course,” which includes 5 required modules and 2 electives. If the research involves animals, the elective module “Using Animal Subjects in Research” is required; if the research involves human subjects, the elective module “Research Involving Human Subjects” is required.

You will be asked to complete the Integrity Assurance Statement before beginning the course and being able to click on the required and supplemental modules appropriate to this training. Once you have completed a module, a completion date and score will appear in the appropriate row.

Policies & Assistance

In addition, the Grants Office can assist in drafting statements regarding the College’s RECR policy and program for use in federal grant proposals. Contact Charlotte Whited (cwhited or x5833) for further information.

For more on the RECR requirements of the National Science Foundation, see the web page for Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR).

For more on the RCR requirements of the National Institutes of Health, see the web page: https://oir.nih.gov/sourcebook/ethical-conduct/responsible-conduct-research-training

Additionally for the NIH, all grant applications “must include a plan for how you will carry out instruction in responsible conduct of research” and will not be reviewed until an acceptable plan of instruction is provided.

Resources

The Office of Research Integrity offers a number of RCR General Resources.