This course is designed to meet current federal regulations requiring all students conducting research in NIH or NSF funded laboratories receive training in responsible conduct of research (RCF). This course will focus on topics of particular relevance for the natural sciences. The course will cover:

• appropriate citation of sources and avoiding plagiarism
• authorship and publication practices and responsibilities
• acquisition, management, ownership and sharing of data
• research misconduct, including data fabrication and falsification
• personal, professional and financial conflicts of interest
• supervisory and mentoring relationships and responsibilities
• responsibilities of collaborative research protection

During this course, students are expected to acquire an understanding of:

• what constitutes scientific misconduct: falsification, fabrication and plagiarism (FFP);
• responsibilities as an independent researcher to conduct studies ethically;
• the ethical dilemmas of research and how to navigate them;
• the dynamics of the Faculty/Student Researcher;
• policies and procedures for data management and ownership;
• how to fairly acknowledge contributions to research in publication and presentations;
• the nature and ethics of peer review;
• the definitions of conflicts of interest and how to manage them; and,
• appropriate design and implementation of research with animals or human subjects

Course Requirements:

Attendance and participation in classroom discussion is mandatory and are the primary basis for credit. In many, but not all classes, students will be asked to work in small groups and produce collaborative online documents summarizing the group discussion and responding to problems posed by the instructor. It is important for the students to complete the class readings in advance and come prepared to discuss the readings and participate in group discussions. Grades will be assigned on a “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory” basis and attendance will be taken in every class. Students who miss a class for an approved reason will be asked to write a short paper outlining a controversy or discussing an issue relevant to material covered in class. Students who fail to read the assigned materials and or fail to participate in class may be required to write a similar paper or risk receiving an “Unsatisfactory” for the course.

Intended Audience:

While this course is designed to meet current federal regulations requiring all students conducting research in NIH or NSF funded laboratories receive training in responsible conduct of research (RCF), it will also be useful to any student interested or involved in scholarly research in biology.

Class Format:

2-hour seminar, 1x/wk. in the half-term or 1-hour seminar, 1x/wk. in the full term.