Responsible Conduct of Research for "K Awardees" Seminar

OVERVIEW

• Materials include planning guide, slides, handouts, and a train-the-trainer session
• Attendees learn through large and small group discussion, mentoring, presentation, and peer review

BACKGROUND

This training is designed to help meet the responsible conduct of research (RCR) training requirements for NIH K awardees. Every year, the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other organizations fund hundreds of early career investigators with mentored career development awards (NIH K). The government requires that anyone receiving federal research training awards and people working on federally funded research complete a minimum of eight hours of responsible conduct of research (RCR) training. However, studies have shown that traditional approaches to RCR training that use a lecture format do not change investigator behavior. 

The technology presented here was designed specifically to address the needs of K awardees in a way that is relevant to them and more impactful on their future behaviors. A Complete Seminar Implementation Package This package provides guidance and materials for an organizer to implement the RCR4K seminar, including a train-the-trainer session for the instructors and facilitators. The highly interactive seminar aims to develop early career faculty members into RCR mentors. It teaches a six-step process that helps the learners build their own foundations of ethics and regulatory knowledge. Over 6-8 weeks, they each identify a question about ethics or integrity arising from their own research experience and research relevant ethics and regulatory principles and local resources to formulate a way to manage the question. 

Attendees learn through large group didactic instruction, small group discussion and mentoring, presentation, and peer review with feedback. There are no quizzes; instead, participants demonstrate learning by producing a one-page issue summary and presenting a poster. This training model also works well with graduate students mentored by early career faculty. 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

To contact the developers at MICHR Education and Mentoring please email michr-edu@umich.edu.