Responsible Conduct of Research
Background
The University believes that training in the responsible conduct of research is an essential component of post-graduate education. For a number of years, several departments have been providing training in this area, each focused on issues related to their disciplines and utilizing a combination of didactic and small-group discussion based formats. For more than a decade, the National Institutes of Health have required training in the responsible conduct of research for students supported on training grants and individual fellowships. The National Science Foundation is now implementing a similar requirement, effective January 4, 2010, following Section 7009 of the “America Competes” Act.
Policy Statement
Effective January 1, 2010, it is Princeton’s policy to provide education in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers proactively as an important element in their training and to undergraduates and other short-term researchers in compliance with regulations of federal research sponsors.
University Plan
The University plan requires that all federally funded students and post-docs receive RCR training. In some cases—e.g., undergraduates doing summer research, Visiting Student Research Collaborators (VSRC’s), and short-term post-doctoral researchers—training by on-line means (such as an appropriate CITI module) is acceptable.
The University plan assumes and expects that all graduate students in the divisions of the social and natural sciences and engineering, as part of their doctoral or research master’s education, receive RCR instruction by means of a course, and that post-doctoral researchers, with the exception of those mentioned above and unless they have taken an equivalent course previously, receive RCR instruction by means of a course.
Contact Information:
RCR Course Questions:
David N. Redman
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs,
Office of the Dean of the Graduate School
113 Clio Hall
Princeton University
Phone: 609-258-3902
Fax: 609-258-6180
Email: dnredman@Princeton.EDU
Administrative Questions:
Jeffrey FriedlandDirector, ORPA
4 New South
Princeton University
Phone: 609-258-3090
Fax: 609-258-1158
Email: jfried@princeton.edu