Responsible Conduct of Research

California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) promotes the responsible conduct of research among CSUSM faculty, students, and staff. Federal legislation and agency policies (e.g., NIH, NSF, USDA) require that awardees of specific federally-funded research and training grants provide appropriate Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy requires RCR training for grants made through training
activity codes (e.g., R25 and T34). The National Science Foundation (NSF) requires awardees to provide
RCR training for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers supported by
NSF. USDA NIFA requires RCR training for program directors, faculty, undergraduate and graduate
students, and staff. It is the responsibility of the University to ensure that awardees are able to comply
with the federal RCR requirements. Thus, the following guidelines are intended to assist CSUSM
investigators in compliance with RCR training requirements. 

Roles and Responsibilities: 

Office of Graduate Studies & Research (OGSR): 

1. Notify PIs of RCR training requirements and the Institutional Plan for Training on the RCR
2. Develop and provide opportunities for RCR training
3. Upon award, ensure PIs are reminded of RCR requirements
4. Support identification of individuals in need of RCR training 

Principal Investigator (PI):

1. Understand and comply with RCR requirements
2. Ensure that RCR requirements are met in a timely manner for relevant participants (i.e., trainees,
   undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, project senior personnel, staff).
3. Report documented completion of RCR training to the funding agency, as appropriate
4. Maintain certificates of completion 

CSUSM Corporation Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP):

1. Assist OGSR in identifying those in need of RCR training
2. Assist in verifying RCR completion in cases where participants are employees (students, staff, faculty)
   on sponsored projects 

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Training Requirement:

Online Training:

For NSF and USDA awards, training should be completed in CITI. Investigators, students, and trainees who are required to fulfill RCR training shall complete the appropriate CITI online RCR training modules available via the CSUSM Office of Graduate Studies & Research (OGSR) website. In exceptional situations, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research can approve alternative training materials and procedures to meet the RCR requirements. In these cases, approval of the plan is required in advance of implementation.

Seminars:

For NIH training awards, in-person training is required. Trainees supported by NIH grants will complete an OGSR-sponsored face-to-face RCR training seminar. The OGSR-sponsored seminar generally covers topics, such as:  Conflict of interest  Policies regarding human subjects and vertebrate animal subjects in research Mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships  Collaborative research Peer review Data acquisition and laboratory tools; management, sharing and ownership  Research misconduct Responsible authorship and publication Contemporary ethical issues in research

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Training Resources: 

• Office of Research Integrity (ORI) ((might not be the correct link)
• NIH Notice (NOT-OD-10-019)
• NIH Research Training and Career Development
• NSF RCR site and FAQs
• USDA NIFA RCR site
• AAAS-ORI Select Bibliography and Resources on RCR 
• American Psychological Society - Misconduct of Others: Prevention Techniques for Researchers
• National Academy of Sciences text, On Being a Scientist

Text for Proposals: For suggested RCR Plan narrative text for NIH, NSF, USDA proposals, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.

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Training Requirements by Sponsor:

	NIH	NSF	USDA
Activity Codes/Mechanisms requiring RCR	R25 & T34 awards	All NSF awards excluding 1) conference, symposium, workshop, and travel projects; and 2) projects in which students receive stipends to participate in a program (not to conduct research) such as Noyce and SSTEM projects	NIFA awards
Who needs to participate in training	Trainees	Required: Undergraduate and graduate students; postdoctoral researchers Encouraged: Faculty	Program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff
Format of RCR training	In-person training is required and supplemental online training through CITI module recommended	CITI module	CITI module
When RCR should be completed	During the training period	Upon hire	Upon hire
Frequency of training	Once during career stage and no less than once every four years	Not prescribed by NSF	Not prescribed by USDA