Responsible Conduct of Research

Conducting and reporting research ethically is fundamental to academic research and part of the mission of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Responsible Conduct of Research is defined as awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research. The behavior of researchers must inspire trust with the public and within the scientific community and among colleagues. The University strives to foster the highest scholarly and ethical standards among its students, faculty, and staff.  The Responsible Conduct of Research Training Policy describes the research ethics training requirements set forth by the university.

 

You may choose to file a report through the UW System’s Integrity Hotline or by calling (855) 827-4950. You may file anonymously or non-anonymously.

RCR Policy

The current policy for Responsible Conduct of Research can be found here: Responsible Conduct of Research Training

RECR Training

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s responsible conduct of research training emphasizes instructional areas suggested by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Research Integrity and guidelines from the  National Institutes of Health.  Responsible and ethical conduct of research training may occur in three components.  To meet the requirements of NSF, NIH, and USDA-NIFA grant terms and conditions, the following responsible conduct of research training will be followed:

Component I

NIH Grants

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires a minimum of eight hours of face-to-face training every 4 years. NIH clarified that some interactive discussions may be achieved electronically through video conferencing, however video conferencing may not be the sole instruction method to meet the RECR requirement. The training requirement applies to trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars supported by certain types of D, F, K, R,T and U awards. The training requirement 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.

The NIH recommends the topics below for comprehensive research ethics training:

  • Conflict of interest-personal, professional, and financial-and conflict of commitment, in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
  • Policies regarding human subjects; live vertebrate animal use in research and safe laboratory practices
  • Mentor/Mentee responsibilities and relationships
  • Safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
  • Collaborative research, including collaborations with industry investigators and institutions in other countries. Peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
  • Data acquisition and analysis; laboratory tools; management, sharing and ownership data acquisition and analysis; laboratory tools (e.g., tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic laboratory notebooks
  • Secure and ethical data use: data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
  • Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
  • Responsible authorship and publication
  • The scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research

The University of Wisconsin-Madison offers face-to-face classes that UW Oshkosh researchers may attend to fulfill the face-to-face training requirement. UW Oshkosh researchers may register as a special student here: https://acsss.wisc.edu/special-student-types/ and take one of the approved courses offered (listed here: https://kb.wisc.edu/gsadminkb/page.php?id=33279#RCR. Questions may be directed to the Director of RCR Education at UW-Madison.

NSF and USDA-NIFA Grants

Interactive online tutorials created by CITI Program (http://citiprogram.org/) will be made available to all identified individuals requiring training. The course content is tailored to the discipline.  The following Responsible and Ethical Conduct in Research Courses are available: RECR for Life Sciences, RECR for Social and Behavioral Science, RECR for Physical Science, or RECR for Arts and Humanities. Instructions for accessing the online CITI Program training  RCR CITI Training Instructions.

The modules will be completed sequentially, though they do not need to be completed in one sitting. The amount of time to complete the interactive online tutorials is estimated to be between one and three hours. Individuals must complete the online RCR course either prior to or in the early weeks of the research work, and prior to receiving compensation.

Interactive online tutorials overview researchers’ rights and obligations; collaboration, communication, and grants management; and intellectual property. More specifically, they address core elements of:

  • Data acquisition & management
  • Mentoring & Trainee responsibilities
  • Research Misconduct
  • Peer Review
  • Authorship
  • Collaborative Research
  • Conflicts of Interest

The interactive online tutorials have a built-in system for verification. During registration, individuals provide their email address and indicate an affiliation with UW Oshkosh. Upon tutorial completion, a completion report is kept in the online system, and a copy is emailed to the user.  Please send a copy of the completion report to the Office of Sponsored Programs at OSP@uwosh.edu to verify training completion.

 
Component II
 
Individuals conducting experiments with human or animal subjects or hazardous biological materials require additional training as set forth by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh:
  • Human Subjects Training (IRB)
    Prior to receiving IRB approval, Principal Investigators and their research staff must complete training in human research ethics. Training is conducted through CITI Program. Additional information on human subjects research training is located here: https://uwosh.edu/sponsoredprograms/irb/training/.
  • Animal Welfare Training (IACUC)
    Prior to receiving IACUC approval, Principal Investigators (PI) and their research staff are required to complete appropriate training in animal care and use. The training path required is based on the user’s role and type of research. Animal Care and Use Certification involves in-person training as well as online training conducted through CITI Program. Additional information on animal care and use training is located here: https://uwosh.edu/sponsoredprograms/iacuc/training/.
  • Biological Safety Training
    Prior to receiving IBC approval, Principal Investigators (PI) and their research staff are required to complete biosafety training for research or teaching experiments involving hazardous biological materials, recombinant DNA or synthetic nucleic acids, or infectious human materials. Training is also required for faculty or staff that will be shipping regulated biological materials. Additional information on biosafety training is located here: https://uwosh.edu/sponsoredprograms/ibc/training/.

Component III

All identified undergraduate students, graduate students, doctoral, postdoctoral, and fellow researchers must receive some in person instruction related to responsible conduct of research as part of their working relationship with faculty researchers. Training instruction to senior personnel on grants is also recommended. Given the diverse areas and experiences provided at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, it will be the responsibility of faculty mentors to devise and provide education that is appropriate for the content, context, and discipline of the research. Faculty mentors will submit verification to the Office of Sponsored Programs confirming that suitable preparation in the responsible and ethical conduct of research occurred. Verification of in-person training is submitted through the following Microsoft Form:

Responsible and Ethical Conduct in Research Training Documentation: RECR Form

This responsible conduct of research training plan is part of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s ongoing commitment to passing along high ethical standards to the next generation of scholars.

RECR Training Summary Table

 

Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research Training Requirements

  National Institutes of Health (NIH)  certain D, F, K,R,T, U awards National Science Foundation (NSF) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Project Involving Human Subjects Project Involving Vertebrate Animals Projects Involving Hazardous Biological Materials
Undergraduate Students      8 hours of      Face-to-Face  instructor led training every 4 years Online CITI RCR Training, Face-to-Face training with PI Online CITI RCR Training, Face-to-Face training with PI Online CITI Human Subjects Training Online CITI and Face-to-Face Animal Certification Online CITI Biosafety Training
Graduate Students      8 hours of      Face-to-Face  instructor led training every 4 years Online CITI RCR Training, Face-to-Face training with PI Online CITI RCR Training, Face-to-Face training with PI Online CITI Human Subjects Training Online CITI and Face-to-Face Animal Certification Online CITI Biosafety Training
Doctoral, Post Doctoral Researchers, or Fellow Researchers      8 hours of      Face-to-Face  instructor led training every 4 years Online CITI RCR Training, Face-to-Face training with PI Online CITI RCR Training (applies to subrecipient participants also), Face-to-Face training with PI  Online CITI Human Subjects Training Online CITI and Face-to-Face Animal Certification Online CITI Biosafety Training
Senior Personnel N/A      (Recommended: Online CITI RCR Training or Face-to-Face training with PI) Online CITI RCR Training N/A      (Recommended: Online CITI RCR Training or Face-to-Face training with PI)   Online CITI Human Subjects Training Online CITI and Face-to-Face Animal Certification  Online CITI Biosafety Training
Principal Investigator/ Project Director      8 hours of      Face-to-Face  instructor led training every 4 years

Online CITI RCR Training

PI must document Face-to-Face   training with students

Online CITI RCR Training

PI must document Face-to-Face   training with students

Online CITI Human Subjects Training Online CITI and Face to Face Animal Certification Online CITI Biosafety Training

 

OFFICE OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS

Our Team Members

Office Contact

Phone: (920) 424-3215
Email: OSP@uwosh.edu
Office Location: Dempsey 214

Mailing Address: 800 Algoma Blvd. Oshkosh, WI 54901-8627

Our Team Members

Office Contact

Phone: (920) 424-3215
Email: OSP@uwosh.edu
Office Location: Dempsey 214

Mailing Address: 800 Algoma Blvd. Oshkosh, WI 54901-8627