Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarly Activity at UNH

Overview
UNH’s Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activity Initiative
UNH’s Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activity Advisory Committee
UNH's Program of Instruction
Policies & Resources (*Updated 5/4/2007*)

Overview

As a land-grant institution, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) is accountable to New Hampshire residents and to the university community to ensure the ethical and safe conduct of research and scholarly activity. As an institution of higher education that prides itself on extensive research endeavors and the involvement of undergraduates and graduate students in research projects, UNH has an obligation to teach and actively promote integrity in research and scholarship.

UNH’s Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activity Initiative

To fulfill its obligations, UNH has embarked on an initiative to:

Raise the consciousness of faculty, staff, and students regarding the ethical and responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity,
Establish a knowledge base that defines normative and/or professional behavior to assist faculty, staff, and students in making ethical and responsible decisions in the conduct of research and scholarly activity, and
Foster an institutional culture of integrity in research and scholarly activity.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (VPR), through the Office of Sponsored Research, is responsible for implementing the Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarly Activity (RCR) initiative at UNH. Accomplishments to date include:

Formation of an ad hoc RCR Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the VPR about a program of instruction RCR at UNH,
Formation of a standing faculty RCR Advisory Committee and development of the Committee’s charge,
Development of a Web-based program of instruction in RCR for the UNH community,
Development of a graduate course in research ethics (GRAD 930, Ethics in Research and Scholarship).

Graduate School Research Ethics Education Grant

In September 2004, UNH's Graduate School received a $15,000 grant to develop and promote graduate education in the Responsible Conduct of Research at UNH. UNH’s proposal was one of 10 funded nationwide by the Council of Graduate Schools

and the Office of Research Integrity. Key elements of UNH’s proposal included:

Formally laying the groundwork for integrating RCR into academic programming and the research environment,
Developing a credit course for graduate students in RCR,
Using the RCR course as an integral part of a new Preparing Future Professionals (PFP) Program, and
An evaluation plan.

The grant will help formalize training by establishing a graduate course in Responsible Conduct of Research as well as help to establish an academic program in professional practice. The interdisciplinary graduate course will use case analysis primarily to engage students in discussions pertaining to ethical decision-making, identify ethical dilemmas, weigh options, and justify plans of action. The academic program in professional practice will be modeled on UNH’s successful Cognate in College Teaching and is intended to prepare students for the issues and challenges presented in the professional non-academic workplace. It will be a sub degree that combines discipline-based graduate study with preparation for career work and that can be added to any UNH master’s or doctoral degree program. Core instructional components will include oral and written communication, research ethics, grantspersonship, and management and finance.

Questions about the RCR initiative may be directed to Julie Simpson, Manager, Research Conduct and Compliance Services, 603-862-2003, or to RCR Advisory Committee members.

UNH’s Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activity Advisory Committee

The charge of the Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarly Activity (RCR) Advisory Committee is to

Guide the development and implementation of a UNH RCR initiative, including development of a Web-based program of instruction, complementary formal and informal educational offerings, and ongoing communication with UNH faculty, students, and staff about the initiative and related issues,
Advise the VPR on related policy formulation and implementation, and
Advocate for the RCR initiative.

The RCR Advisory Committee meets periodically. Current members are:

Ellen Cohn, Psychology
Bill Condon, Animal and Nutritional Sciences
David Finkelhor, Sociology and Family Research Laboratory
Estelle Hrabak, Plant Biology
Harry Richards, Graduate School
Richard Messner, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Eberhard Moebius, Physics and EOS
Thomas Pistole, Microbiology

UNH’s Program of Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activity

Graduate Course in Research Ethics

UNH offers a graduate course in responsible conduct of research each semester: GRAD 930 Ethics in Research and Scholarship (refer to the semester time and room schedule for course details).

Description
Individual, professional, institutional and social issues related to the ethical conduct of research and scholarship. Uses case studies to demonstrate the application of pertinent regulations, policies, and guidelines. Variable (2-3) cr. (Cr/F)

Overview
This course examines questions and issues related to the conduct of research and scholarship. Questions include:

Who owns the research data that you just collected?

What constitutes plagiarism?

What should you consider when involving people in your research?

Participants gain knowledge of professional and ethical standards of behavior in research and scholarship as well as pertinent regulations, policies, and guidelines. Through case study analysis and discussion participants will learn to identify and to analyze ethical issues that may arise in their professional careers in order to develop reasoned and justifiable plans of action. Course stresses both principles and application.

For more information on GRAD 930, contact (603-862-0111) or (603-862-2003).

(Financial support for the development of this course has been provided by the Council of Graduate Schools and the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a $15,0000 Graduate Education in the Responsible Conduct of Research grant. This grant supported 100% of this project's costs.)

Web-Based Instruction

UNH’s program of instruction consists of interactive, self-contained Web-based training modules on topic areas related to the responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity. Modules are available at http://www.unh.edu/rcr/ Modules may be completed according to the individual’s own timeframe. Allow approximately 30 minutes for each module.

Each module presents

Learning objectives,
A case study featuring ethical issues pertaining to the topic area,
Content that supports the learning objectives. Where applicable, content is institution-specific. Links to pertinent webpages and resources, and bibliographic references are provided throughout the material. Important terms are defined on-screen. (Adobe Acrobat Reader may be required to read some of the information. This free software can be downloaded by clicking on the yellow button in the far left hand corner of your screen.)
Review questions after each major content section. Immediate feedback is provided to the answer choice. Correct answer selection is required before advancing to the next screen.
The same case study at the end of the content with ethical issues identified, and
A way to certify completion at the end of the module.

Questions about the modules may be directed to Julie Simpson, Manager, Research Conduct and Compliance Services, at or 603-862-2003.

(Financial support for the development of these instructional modules has been provided by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a $25,0000 Responsible Conduct of Research Resource Development Program grant. This grant supported approximately 80% of this project's costs.)

Resources for the Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarly Activity