Responsible Conduct of Research Training
Research Compliance
Western Washington University and certain Federal agencies require individuals engaged in federally funded research projects to complete formal Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. WWU primarily fulfills this obligation through the CITI Program which provides nationally recognized, peer-reviewed, online regulatory content for researchers.
Training, Certification, and Disclosure Requirements and Guidance
Western Washington University (WWU) will not permit spending until required training, certification, and disclosures are documented. Personnel and participants who join after the start of the project must complete their required training within sixty (60) days of accepting their position per WWU policy. PIs are responsible for ensuring and documenting that all trainings are completed.
All WWU PIs engaged in federally funded research must have a valid CITI RCR certificate of completion on file before the project begins, and all researchers are responsible for ensuring their certification is up-to-date and current throughout the duration of the research project. In addition, all co-PIs, staff, students, and other faculty engaged in federally funded research are required to complete the CITI RCR training. NIH required training is program specific.* Contact us for more information.
Additional optional training resources grouped by topic are included below the FAQ section. Faculty and investigators are encouraged to use these resources to promote research integrity and supplement instruction provided by the CITI RCR Basic course.
*Applicable NIH programs include D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R. Contact us for information about additional requirements for and timing of the eight (8) hour training.
Frequently Asked Questions
- PIs
- Undergraduate and Graduate students paid on the grant (ex: Research Assistants)
- Postdoctoral Researchers paid on the grant
- Senior or Key Personnel supported by the grant
Exception
- Student research assistants working on project for academic credit and are not receiving monetary payment for their work on the project. That being said, this is an excellent learning opportunity for those students, and we highly recommend that they take advantage of the training opportunity.
Satisfactory completion of the online RCR training course offered by CITI must be documented before funding will be released for new federally funded research agreements. Personnel and participants who join after the start of the project must complete their required training within sixty (60) days of accepting their position.
A refresher course is required every three (3) years.
Western Washington University (WWU) has partnered with the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) to provide a free online regulatory training course in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).
The course we accept is called "Responsible Conduct of Research." The "Basic" course is appropriate for all research disciplines. The CITI program also offers a "Refresher" course for those who have previously taken the "Basic" course. A refresher course is required every three (3) years. Additional elective courses may be appropriate for you depending on your research.
If you have completed this training with another institution, affiliate your profile with WWU to document it.
The CITI Social and Behavorial Research training is not the same as RCR training. Human Participant Protections regulations and Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) policies have specific training requirements. While there is some overlap in some of the topics, RCR training is very different from the Social and Behavorial Research training required for HRPP protocols.
Refer to How to Register for CITI Trainings Instructions for a detailed explanation (includes screenshots).
Review the Adding a CITI Course page for instructions (includes screenshots).
In many cases, yes. The steps on the How to Register for CITI Trainings page will assist you if you have mistakenly chosen the wrong institution, your institution has changed, or you have an affiliation with more than one institution and need to transfer module completion credit.
If you would like to receive credit for modules previously taken, the certain requirements must be met.
Refer to instructions on the How to Access CITI Course Completion Certificates page.
Reminder! Make sure to save your Completion Certificate(s) as a PDF. We do not accept other formats.
- WWU POL-U4520.07 Training for Research/Scholarly Activities
- WWU POL-U4520.02 Addressing Responsible Conduct of Research
- PRO-U4520.02 Addressing Responsible Conduct for Research (wwu.edu)
- National Science Foundation, Responsible Conduct of Research, as published in NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide.
- National Institutes of Health, Requirement for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research, as published in Notice No. NOT-OD-10-019
- 2 CFR Part 422 USDA-Funded Extramural Research, Sections 2, 3, and 8
- 42 CFR Part 93 Subpart C -- Responsibilities of Institutions
How do I find the correct course for the RCR requirement?
You can add the Responsible Conduct of Research "RCR" course to your WWU affiliated CITI account using our Add a CITI Course instructions (includes screenshots specifically for RCR courses).
Optional External RCR Training Content by Topic
We have included additional optional training resources grouped by topic below. Faculty and investigators are encouraged to use these resources to promote research integrity and supplement instruction provided by the CITI RCR Basic course.
The Lab (interactive movie): In "The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct," you become the lead characters in an interactive movie and make decisions about integrity in research that can have long-term consequences. The simulation addresses Responsible Conduct of Research topics such as avoiding research misconduct, mentorship responsibilities, handling of data, responsible authorship, and questionable research practices. Includes facilitator's guide. Available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.
RCR Casebook: Stories about Researchers Worth Discussing: Short case studies covering a variety of research integrity topics.
Research Integrity Case Study: Short videos involving a fictional case study covering multiple areas of research integrity.
28 Guidelines at A Glance on Avoiding Plagiarism: The discussed guidelines are taken from "Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing" by Miguel Roig
Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical Writing: This module helps students, as well as professionals, identify and prevent questionable practices and to develop an awareness of ethical writing.
Ruined Internship: The Consequences of Plagiarism: Short video
The Left-Out Author: Short video
Adventures in Collaborative Research (Kenneth Pimple): Case study with script to be performed and discussed
Collaborative Research: Avoiding Pitfalls and Sharing Credit (Kenneth Pimple): Essay includes simple list of decision points in chronological order
Five tips for building healthy academic collaborations (Martyna Śliwa)
Preempting discord: Prenuptial agreements for scientists (Howard Gadlin and Kevin Jessar): Discussion about conflicts between collaborating scientists, provides questions to prompt discussion.
The Professional Grant Writer (Mike Lauer): A NIH case study that about failure of a reviewer to disclose a COI.
Undisclosed Conflict of Interest (Mike Lauer): NIH case study
How Indigenous Groups Are Leading the Way on Data Privacy (Rina Diane Caballar, 2023)
The Jessica Banks Case (Kenneth Pimple and MJ Beabeau): Case of PhD student who wants to take her lab notebooks with her when she graduates
Mentoring Resources: Assorted resources for mentors, mentees, and leadership from the Council of Graduate Schools.
The Bad Role Model: 1-minute video from the Office of Research Integrity
A Developmental Model of Research Mentoring Revelo, R.A., and Loui, M.C., 2016, “A Developmental Model of Research Mentoring,” College Teaching
Ethical Practices and Tips for Improving Engineering Faculty-Student Research Relationships Idalis Villanueva Alarcon (2022), Ethical Practices and Tips for Improving Engineering Faculty-Student Research Relationships, IEEE
Graduate Student Mentoring Guide: A Guide for Students Handbook from Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan.
How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty: Handbook from Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan.
Mentoring International Post Docs: Videos and guidebook from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Mentoring – the NSF requirement: Curated resources compiled by Kelly Laas, made available through the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science
A race re-imaged, intersectional approach to academic mentoring: Exploring the perspectives and responses of womxn in science and engineering researchVillaneuva, I., Di Stefano, M., Gelles, L., Osoria, P.V., & Benson, S. (2019), A race re-imagined, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59, 101786
Raising a Resilient Scientist Series: From NIH Workshops and Trainings for Extramural faculty composed of five units, covering communication, resilience, inclusivity, conflict and feedback, and trainee wellbeing. Webinar recordings.
The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM: Book, .pdf, podcast, online guide
Ten simple rules for leading a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab Hickman K, Zahn G (2024) Ten simple rules for leading a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab. PLoS Comput Biol 20(4): e1011994.
Ten simple rules for developing a mentor–mentee expectations document Masters KS, Kreeger PK (2017) Ten simple rules for developing a mentor–mentee expectations document. PLoS Comput Biol 13(9): e1005709.
Abuse of Power (Mike Lauer): NIH case study about the pressure to write reviewer critiques.
Asking for Favorable Treatment (Mike Lauer): NIH case study about PI contacts reviewer
The Professional Grant Writer (Mike Lauer): NIH case study about the failure of a reviewer to disclose a COI.
Sharing an Application Being Reviewed (Mike Lauer): NIH case study about the integrity in peer review.
The Seminar Trip (Mike Lauer): NIH case study about a breach of review integrity
Using AI in Peer Review is a Breach of Confidentiality (Mike Lauer, Stephanie Constant, and Amy Wernimont)
Crash Course Intellectual Property (Stan Muller, CrashCourse): 10-minute video introduction to IP
Disclosure and Protection of Confidential Information University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP): Guide includes industry and university perspectives, basic principles, and suggestions.
Caught Cheating: 1-minute video from the Office of Research Integrity.
The Grant Application Game: How Far Would You Go to Get Funded?: 1-minute video from Office of Research Integrity
WWU Policy: POL-U4520.02 Addressing Responsible Conduct of Research
WWU Academic Honesty (applies to students)
RCR Casebook: Social Responsibility: Online case studies from the Office of Research Integrity that includes topics like research priorities, fiscal responsibilities, public service, public education, advocacy, environmental impact, and forbidden knowledge.
Socially Responsible Science Is More than “Good Science” Bird SJ. Socially responsible science is more than "good science". J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2014 Dec 15;15(2):169-72. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.v15i2.870. PMID: 25574272; PMCID: PMC4278471.
Ten simple rules for socially responsible science Zivony A, Kardosh R, Timmins L, Reggev N (2023) Ten simple rules for socially responsible science. PLoS Comput Biol 19(3): e1010954. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010954(Link is external)
The Role of Science in Society Higgins, P.A.T., Chan, K.M.A., and Porder, S. 2006. Bridge over a philosophical divide. Evidence & Policy. 2(2):251-257.