RCR Resources

Academic Honesty and Integrity is the UAA and APU policy on academic integrity, which includes resources for students and faculty.

SHARED VALUES OF RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT

(from: Steneck, Nicholas; ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research, United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2004, ISBN 0-16-072285-3)

The University of Alaska Anchorage is proactive in the vision of supporting campus wide incorporation of these shared values in research education. Combining adherence to federal regulations, agency policies and university institutional policies is complex.

In support of the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) recognized nine core competencies as focus areas for instruction.

These are:

1. Data acquisition, management, sharing, and ownership,
2. Mentor/trainee responsibilities,
3. Publication practices and responsible authorship,
4. Peer review,
5. Collaborative science,
6. Human subjects (IRB),
7. Research involving animals (IACUC),
8. Research misconduct, and
9. Conflict of interest and commitment

(from ORI http://ori.dhhs.gov/education/)

Federal legislation has been passed which regulates required education practices for at least three of the core competencies, animal and human welfare and research misconduct. Three acts passed by Congress support specific regulations which allow the Federal Government the authority to regulate the research it funds:

* The 1966 Animal Welfare Act (PL 89-544)

* The 1974 National Research Act (PL 93-348)

* The 1985 Health Research Extension  Act (PL 99-158)

Some other critical areas of research education also center around applications of research behavior and policies. Competence and safe practices are vital in the areas of environmental health laboratory safety, intellectual property issues and conflict management and fiscal responsibility. 

The on-going process of ensuring the integrity of the research record is the responsibility of everyone involved in research and sponsored programs, from the principal investigator, to the department administrators to the grant technicians and financial managers. There can be no exceptions to upholding values which foster highest integrity in all levels of responsible research.

Federal and Academic RCR Resources

• The Office of Research Integrity (ORI), US Dept. of Health and Human Services, has RCR (responsible conduct of research) educational resources in core instructional areas. Click here for ORI for instructional materials.

• Conflict of Interest Information Resources Available on the Web, Office of Extramural Research, NIH, DHHS.
  
  
• NIH Guide, Vol. 24, #25, 7/14/95, Public Health Service (includes NIH and NSF), that has information about federal financial conflict of interest regulations entitled Objectivity in Research.

• The Online Ethics Center (an NSF-funded Educational Resource) offers resources for further RCR education including: 1) cases and scenarios for use in classes, seminars, or research, and 2) essays, articles, and student projects concerning research ethics and author status.
  
  
• A helpful resource is a booklet by the Office of Research Integrity entitled ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research.  The booklet can be downloaded here or go to http://www.ori.hhs.gov/education/.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formed a "compliance assistance center" to aid universities with understanding and meeting the requirements of environmental laws.  The EPA compliance link is here.