Office of Research Integrity and Assurance

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training Plan

GMU RCR Training

George Mason University has developed a training plan to implement NSF and NIH requirements.  ORIA facilitates an 8-hour face to face faculty led course in the responsible conduct of research available for all trainees and required for certain NIH awards (see Notice NOT-OD-10-019, and updates NOT-OD-22-055 and NOT-OD-21-152). This training course is interactive with a mix of lectures, case studies, and scenarios discussed by participants. The course is required at each career stage and at least once every four years.

Topics covered include: societal impacts of scientific research/the researcher as a responsible member of society: responsible authorship; safe research environments; conflict of interest and conflict of commitment; research misconduct; data acquisition, analysis, management, sharing, ownership; secure and ethical data use; responsible peer review, collaborative research, and mentor/mentee relationships. Trainees receive a certificate of participation upon completion of the training program.

Contact ORIA for details about this training.

CITI Program

ORIA also offers an online training program for faculty, staff and students. This program is available through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).

The course is designed to be used by institutions or organizations to provide a comprehensive Basic course in the RCR. The course is also flexible enough that class room instructors of research methods courses can use this online tutorial as an adjunct to the class room instruction. Most of the materials in the CITI RCR Course are in the public domain and produced by contractors of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Research Integrity (ORI) through the RCR Resource Development Contract program. The development of this course site was funded in part by the ORI. Some case studies are used from www.onlineethics.org, with permission.

OSP will receive a certificate of completion from CITI once you have finished the course.  If you have any questions, please contact Lindsay Wescott at lwescot1@gmu.edu.

How to Register and Access the CITI RCR Training Program:

Go to www.citiprogram.org and select “New Users Register Here” On the CITI Registration page: (All 8 questions must be answered)
  • Select your institution or organization
  • Participating Institutions: Select George Mason University from the dropdown box
  • Create your Username and Password (at least 8 characters)
  • Create a security question and answer
  • Enter your name (as it should appear on your certificate)
  • Enter your email address
  • Enter your gender, ethnicity and race
  • CME/CEU credits are not required by GMU
  • Course Survey – yes or no required
  • Click “Submit” when complete
On the next CITI Registration page
  • Complete the personal information fields. Only fields with the red asterisks (*) are required
  • Click “Submit” when complete
On the CITI “Select Curriculum” pages
  • Select “I am interested in the Responsible Conduct of Research Courses,” then click Next
  • Select the comprehensive RCR Course specific to your discipline (choice 1 – 4), then click Next
  • Do not select choice 5; it is not accepted by George Mason University.
  • If you have other affiliations and would like to select multiple institutions, click “Yes.” If you would like to select only George Mason University as your affiliation, click “No.”
Once you have completed the preceding steps you are logged in and registered for the course. At this point you may begin the RCR course, listed under My Courses, or log out and return at another time. If you choose to log out, when you return to the CITI homepage you will not need to register again. Login with the username and password you have already created, and you will return to the screen you were last logged on to. Complete the required modules and associated quizzes. You may retake a quiz by selecting “View this module again” at the bottom of the Quiz Review page. Select “Take the quiz” at the bottom of the module. To select a new module, select “Go to the gradebook for this course”.
Go to www.citiprogram.org and login using your previously created username and password. On the CITI “Main Menu” page
  • Select “Add a course or update your learner groups for George Mason University”
On the CITI “Select Curriculum” pages
  • Select “I am interested in the Responsible Conduct of Research Courses,” then click Next.
  • Select the comprehensive RCR Course specific to your discipline (choice 1 – 4), then click Next.
  • Do not select choice 5; it is not accepted by George Mason University.
Once you have completed the preceding steps you are logged in and registered for the course. At this point you may begin the RCR course, listed under My Courses, or log out and return at another time. If you choose to log out, when you return to the CITI homepage you will not need to register again.

Additional Training

All individuals, whether funded or not, who wish to conduct research with humans, must also complete the CITI Human Subjects Protection course prior to initiating research with humans.

All individuals, whether funded or not, who wish to conduct research involving vertebrate animals, must complete the CITI Animal Care and Use course and the animal and vivarium safety training course prior to initiating research with animals.

All individuals, whether funded or not, who work in laboratories with chemicals must complete Laboratory Safety Orientation Training. In addition, individuals working with human blood or other potentially infectious materials must complete Bloodborne Pathogens training. Individuals working with infectious materials must complete Biological Safety for BSL-2 Laboratories training. Finally, individuals working with other specialized equipment or laboratory materials such as radioisotopes are required to complete additional training.

For more information on laboratory safety training, visit the George Mason University EHS Training Website or call 703-993-8448.

For information on additional in-person training in the areas of human subjects research or laboratory animals, contact our office.

 

 

 

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