Teaching RCR to undergraduate and graduate audiences: college

sophomores, seniors and graduate students

Julio F. Turrens, Ph.D.Julio F. Turrens, Ph.D.Associate DeanAssociate Dean

College of Allied Health ProfessionsCollege of Allied Health ProfessionsUniversity of South AlabamaUniversity of South Alabama

Why do we need training in RCR?

Because we “believe” we know, but we don’t always know

Why is important to discussResponsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

early on in college?

• High incidence of cheating among undergraduates. These are our future graduate students and future professionals

• Increased tolerance among faculty and professionals gives students a wrong impression

• In addition to cheating, there is a general lack of knowledge about general rules of conduct in science

• Students need to understand that training in RCR protects both the researcher and the institution

• Although professionals may think that they do not need to learn about RCR, students tend to be more interested

Responsibility, Integrity and the nature of research

•Research in all disciplines (from the humanities to engineering and sciences) provides the building blocks of knowledge

•TRUST is at the center of all scientific endeavors. Public funds and trust are put in the hands of the researcher. Students trust their teachers. Patients trust their physicians

Sophomores, seniors and graduate students

• Undergraduate sophomores taking a general course entitled Seminars in Biomedical Sciences (BMD 201) (1 hour)

• Summer research program for medical students (1 hour)

• Undergraduate seniors taking bioethics course entitled Issues in Biomedical Sciences (BMD 493) (1 semester/3 credit hours)

• Undergraduates participating in a summer research program (NSF-REU) (1 hour weekly meetings over 10 wks)

• Graduate students taking a course on “Responsible Conduct of Research (GIS 501) (1 semester, 1-2 hours/week)

Training areas in RCR

• Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership

• Conflict of Interest and Commitment • Human Subjects • Animal Welfare • Research Misconduct • Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship • Mentor / Trainee Responsibilities • Peer Review • Collaborative Science

1 Hour presentations

• Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership

• Conflict of Interest and Commitment • Human Subjects • Animal Welfare • Research Misconduct • Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship • Mentor / Trainee Responsibilities • Peer Review • Collaborative Science

Bioethics course

• Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership

• Conflict of Interest and Commitment • Human Subjects • Animal Welfare • Research Misconduct • Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship • Mentor / Trainee Responsibilities • Peer Review • Collaborative Science• Technology transfer/Intellectual property

Summer program

• Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership

• Conflict of Interest and Commitment • Human Subjects • Animal Welfare • Research Misconduct • Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship • Mentor / Trainee Responsibilities • Peer Review • Collaborative Science• Technology transfer/Intellectual property

Graduate course• Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership • Conflict of Interest and Commitment • Human Subjects • Animal Welfare • Research Misconduct • Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship • Mentor / Trainee Responsibilities • Peer Review • Collaborative Science• Technology transfer• Intellectual property• Forensic Analysis of scientific data• Expert witness• Genetics and Human Reproduction• Harassment in the workplace

Evaluations

1 hour undergraduate course

Evaluations

Undergraduate Course (BMD 493)

Evaluations

Summer Research Program

Topics covered in 2006 and students’ perception of relative relevance on every topic

Topic ImportantNo

opinionIrrelevant

I already knew

Why do we teach Responsible Conduct of Research?

7 3 0 0

Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership

8 2 0 0

Ethics in Research. Research Integrity and Misconduct

7 3 0 0

Mentoring and Collaborative Research 6 4 0 0

Technology Transfer. Conflict of Interest 6 3 0 1

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

8 2 0 0

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) 9 1 0 0

Publication and Authorship. Peer Review 7 2 0 1

Case studies presented by students 7 3 0 0

Evaluations

Graduate Course – Fall 08

Most Favorite topics (top to bottom)

• Use of humans in research (8)• Intellectual Property – Patents (7)• Use of Animals in Research (6)• Scientific Research. Forensic analysis of scientific data. (5)• Conflict of Interest (4)• Collaborations with Private Industry (4)• Scientific Research and Ethics (3)• Collaboration Research and Authorship and Mentoring (3)• Publication and Peer Review (3)• Genetics and Human reproduction (3)• Harassment in the workplace (2)• Data Collection (1)• Rules and Regulations about Expert Witnesses in court (0)

Least Favorite topics (top to bottom)

•Data Collection (8)

•Rules and Regulations about Expert Witnesses in court (7)

•Publication and Peer Review (6)

•Collaborations with Private Industry (5)

•Conflict of Interest (4)

•Harassment in the workplace (4)

•Scientific Research and Ethics (3)

•Scientific Research. Forensic analysis of scientific data (3)

•Use of Animals in Research (3)

•Collaboration Research and Authorship and Mentoring (1)

•Genetics and Human Reproduction (1)

•Intellectual Property – Patents (1)

•Use of Humans in Research (0)

•(1)

Conclusions

• It has been suggested that teaching RCR does not necessarily improve future behavior. By addressing these topics at various points during the curriculum, and in more detail as students mature we reinforce the relevance of these topics.

• These discussions have some long term impact, since many students send me emails with reference to news and reports related to Research Integrity