Responsible Conduct of Research

Responsible Conduct of Research

Responsible Conduct of Research

Responsible conduct of research starts with understanding the definitions, regulations, and procedures for handling allegations, and case histories. For additional information, please refer to the following links

Rowan Guidelines on Responsible Conduct of Research Training

Federal Definitions and Regulations

Historical Cases and examples

An informative short video on Responsible Conduct of Research can be watched Here

Office of Research Integrity also provides many resources regarding responsible conduct of research. 

In accordance with the University policy on ethical conduct of research (December 2011) in order to comply with Federal statutes, the Office of Sponsored Programs will inform researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows conducting research on certain types of National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded programs to enroll and complete the appropriate RCR training.

Please review the RCR guidelines and policy above to determine if training may be applicable to your funded research. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the Office of Research Compliance at (856) 256-4058.

On-line RCR training is available through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) - Web-based Training in Responsible Conduct of Research for Faculty and Students. CITI is a web-based program used by universities, other entities conducting research, and is periodically updated by veteran and experienced researchers and research administrators. The program can accommodate disabled individuals and is available in multiple languages.

Detailed CITI training instructions can be found here

RCR CITI Training

Guidance for Principal Investigators who receive research support from the National Science Foundation (NSF)

Principal Investigators are responsible for the stewardship of the NSF funds and management of the research. The Office of Research has developed a policy to assist investigators when determining who and when RCR training is required to be completed. Below are some hints to assist the Principal Investigator in maintaining compliance with NSF and management of personnel assigned to work on or be paid from an NSF fund.

  • During the NSF proposal submission process, you should identify the undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows that may work on the NSF project
  • After the award is granted to you, the students and post-docs identified should be directed to complete the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training online via CITI
  • Please note that if payment for a student is paid for/disbursed from the grant, then the payment will not go through until the student or post doc fellow has completed RCR training in CITI.

Guidance for Principal Investigators who receive research support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Principal Investigators are responsible for the stewardship of the NIH funds and management of the research. The Office of Research has developed a policy to assist investigators when determining who and when RCR training is required to be completed. NIH only applies the RCR training standards to a specific set of awards, and the training is broken out into two (2) distinct methods that may be applied to the training. One method is for students, graduate and undergraduate, and postdocs that are short term, which is six (6) months or less, can meet RCR training standards using the online training module available in CITI. The second method is a didactic, in-person training. Please contact the Office of Research Compliance at (856) 256-4058 or Eric Gregory (gregorye@rowan.edu) for further guidance.