Research Ethics (See below regarding requirements for NSF and NIH funded research)

Carnegie Mellon University promotes the responsible conduct of research through high standards of ethics and accountability in planning, conducting and reporting research. The responsible conduct of research is demonstrated through behavior that meets generally accepted standards. These standards are set forth by state and federal regulations, institutional policies, professional codes of conduct and personal convictions. The building blocks of responsible conduct of research include:

Honesty - conveying information truthfully and honoring commitments,
Accuracy- reporting findings precisely and taking care to avoid errors,
Efficiency- using resources wisely and avoiding waste, and
Objectivity- letting the facts speak for themselves and avoiding improper bias

This webpage includes information about:

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Education
NSF and NIH Requirements for RCR Education
CITI On-line RCR education
RCR Seminar Series at CMU
Research Misconduct (what it is and how to report concerns)
Links to additional information

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Education

A number of avenues exist at CMU for formal learning about ethical conduct of research and the standards within this research community. Education has long been required for individuals participating in Human Subject research and Animal research at CMU. Research ethics is addressed at Graduate Student orientation, some other orientation programs and in some classes. On-line education focused on Responsible Conduct of Research is available via CITI.

Typically RCR education addresses the following topics:

Data Acquisition and Management - collection, accuracy, security, access
Authorship and Publication
Peer Review
Mentor / Trainee Responsibilities
Collaboration
Conflict of Interest
Research Misconduct
Human Subject Research
Use of Animals in Research

NSF and NIH Requirements for RCR Education

On August 20, 2009, the National Science Foundation (NSF) published (74 FR 42126) a new requirement for RCR education. For proposals submitted on or after January 4, 2010 and subsequently awarded, institutions are responsible for verifying that undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF to conduct research have received (RCR) training. At this time CMU is using the CITI RCR online program to meet the NSF requirement. See below for information on the CITI education.

For NSF awards resulting from proposals submitted on or after January 4, 2010, RCR education needs to be completed by undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers prior to them receiving any financial support from the award. It does not need to be completed at the time the proposal is submitted. If the NSF application requires a description of the RCR education program at CMU you may use this standard language as a guide.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also requires RCR education for certain types of awards (Institutional Research Training Grants, Individual Fellowship Awards, Career Development Awards (Institutional and Individual), Research Education Grants, Dissertation Research Grants other grant programs with a training component that requires instruction in responsible conduct of research). The recently updated NIH Policy on Responsible Conduct of Research Education will take effect with 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 CITI RCR modules may be used to partially satisfy the NIH requirements.

CITI On-line RCR Education

To complete the CITI on-line education course go to CITI's website. Select Carnegie Mellon University as your "participating institution" and create an account. Once your registration is complete, you will be directed to a list of courses. Choose the Responsible Conduct of Research module most appropriate to the type of research you conduct (physical sciences, social and behavioral, undergraduates, biomedial engineering or humanities). The course may take a few hours to complete but can be done over a period of time. When you complete the course, CITI will e-mail your completion record to the CMU Research Compliance Office.

If you have done CITI education for another organization, add CMU to your CITI profile. You will be given credit for your previous courses to the extent they overlap with CMU's requirements.

RCR Seminar Series at CMU

The CMU Office of Research Integrity and Compliance office is sponsoring an education program titled "Responsible Conduct of Research Seminar Series". The series is intended to provide participants with an introduction to the topics typically included in RCR curriculum. The sessions are part lecture and part discussion of case studies. Group discussion is intended to help participants understand the complexity of these issues.

Registration is required. Interested individuals may register for a single session or multiple sessions.

The schedule for Spring 2012 is as follows:

Date	Topic	Location and Time
February 15, 2012	Research Misconduct	Noon - 1 University Center Rangos 3
March 7, 2012	Human Subject Research at CMU	Noon - 1 University Center Connan
March 27, 2012	International Research	Noon-1 University Center Rangos 1
April 4, 2012	Who Owns the Data?	Noon - 1 Uniiversity Center -Connan
April 11,2012	Protecting Your Research & Technology Presented by: FBI Special Agent	Noon - 1 University Center - Connan
May 2, 2012	Conflict of Interest: Upcoming New Rules	Noon - 1 University Center - Rangos 3

If you have questions about RCR education contact the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance at 412-268-7166.

Seminar Series Materials: Coming Soon

Research Misconduct

Carnegie Mellon University is responsible for the integrity of research conducted at the university. As a community of scholars, in which truth and integrity are fundamental, the university must establish procedures for the investigation of allegations of misconduct of research with due care to protect the rights of those accused, those making the allegations, and Carnegie Mellon University. Furthermore, federal regulations require the university to have explicit procedures for addressing incidents in which there are allegations of misconduct in research

Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing, omitting, changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
Plagiarism is appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.

Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.

A finding of research misconduct requires that:

There be a significant departure from accepted of the scientific practices of the relevant research community; and
The misconduct be committed intentionally, or knowingly, or recklessly of accepted practices; and
The allegation be proven by a preponderance of evidence

Funding agencies and research institutions are partners who share responsibility for the research process. Federal agencies have ultimate oversight authority for federally funded research, but research institutions bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and for the inquiry, investigation, and adjudication of research misconduct alleged to have occurred in association with their own institution. CMU has a formal process for handling allegations of research misconduct (to be posted here soon).

If you have any questions or concerns about what constitutes research misconduct or would like to report possible misconduct you should consider talking to someone in your department or another colleague. You can always contact CMU's Research Integrity Officer (Ann Mathias at 412-268-4727). To make a report about possible misconduct anonymously contact the CMU hotline at 877-700-7050.

All reports of possible research misconduct will be handled in a confidential manner. It is against CMU policy to retaliate for good faith reporting of concerns about inappropriate activity.

This article Uncovering misconduct, provides some insight to the issues related to reporting misconduct.