{"id":8443,"date":"2026-04-28T14:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/?page_id=8443"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:08:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:08:51","slug":"responsible-conduct-of-research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/responsible-conduct-of-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Responsible Conduct of Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Responsible Conduct of Research<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tarleton State University requires all faculty, staff and students eligible to conduct research be trained in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). All research eligible individuals must take the Collaborative Institutional Training Institute \u201cCITI\u201d RCR course. This requirement is in addition to any other RCR training. Research eligible individuals who have taken the CITI RCR course within the last five years at a previous institution do not need to retake the course.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Access to certain university processes related to research for all faculty, staff and students who have not yet completed RCR training, will be suspended until the RCR training is completed. This includes, but not limited to, submission of IBC, IRB, and IACUC protocols and amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CITI RCR Course<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are several discipline-specific courses that consist of an introduction, basic foundation text, embedded case studies, and quiz questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Biomedical Research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social and Behavioral Research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Biosafety<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Animal-specific courses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>IACUC Requirements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>CITI allows users to select more than one discipline-specific course when you first log in and register to take the RCR course. CITI automatically combines the unique modules for the disciplines selected when generating the modules for users training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Review of the required materials and completion of the quizzes will take about 30-35 minutes per topic. Courses do not have to be completed in one session. A minimum, aggregate score of 80% is required to pass the RCR course. CITI allows users to retake the quizzes if the minimum score was not obtained to pass the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon course completion, a copy of the completion certificate will be available to print and retain for your records. The CITI system keeps track of all completion data, and Ohio State accesses completion data directly from CITI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Federal RCR Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NIH<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NSF<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NIFA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training grant, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, or dissertation research grant must receive instruction in the RCR. Review NIH RCR&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/grants.nih.gov\/grants\/guide\/notice-files\/NOT-OD-10-019.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NOT-OD-10-019<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/grants.nih.gov\/grants\/guide\/notice-files\/NOT-OD-22-055.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NOT-OD-22-055<\/a>. For the specified award categories, the Principal Investigator (PI) must develop a discipline-specific, tailored plan for RCR training that meets the NIH requirements. The instructional plan is evaluated as a component of the NIH funding proposal and applications lacking an RCR instructional plan may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The PI is responsible for ensuring that course attendance is monitored, and training records are maintained to document that all NIH supported trainees, fellows, and scholars received the required instruction. The PI must also comply with the specific reporting requirements in continuation applications. The instructional plan should include coursework with significant face-to-face interaction and participation by research faculty members. Analysis of relevant case studies is recommended. While on-line instruction may be used as a component of the training program, it is not sufficient to meet the NIH requirement for RCR instruction, except in special or unusual circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PI\u2019s may want to use the online CITI RCR training course as part of instructional plan. All the NIH required topics are addressed in the CITI RCR coursework. If used, the most relevant, discipline-specific CITI RCR course (Biomedical Research, Social and Behavioral Research, Physical Science, Humanities, or Engineering) should be specified. The CITI RCR course also offers online case studies that can be used for face-to-face discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NIH training records are subject to audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Waiving RCR Requirement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Individuals who meet all the criteria below may not be required to complete the training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Not listed on any active human subjects, animal, or biosafety research protocols<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not listed on any sponsored research projects&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not involved in the oversight or administration of research&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not involved in the teaching research, training on research, or the supervision of research<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conflicts of Interest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Financial Conflicts of Interest<\/strong>&nbsp;(FCOI):&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/policy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/142\/2022\/06\/15_01_03_T1.pdf\">Tarleton Rule 15.01.03.T1<\/a>&nbsp;(Under Review)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Financial Conflict of Interest in research is present&nbsp;when a Significant Financial Interest affects, or could appear to affect, the professional judgment of a researcher when designing, conducting, or reporting research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Each Investigator shall submit Financial Disclosure Statements to the Tarleton COI Official as required in system regulation 15.01.03, through Maestro.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The COI official will review disclosure statements and determine if FCOI exists.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If an FCOI exists, the COI Official will develop a Management Plan specifying the actions that will be taken to manage, reduce, or eliminate the FCOI. All FCOIs identified by the COI Official are required to be satisfactorily managed, reduced or eliminated prior to the expenditure of any sponsored research funds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Investigators shall complete training via TrainTraq as required in system regulation 15.01.03. In addition, each Investigator shall annually certify that the Investigator is aware of and has read system regulation 15.01.03, and this rule, and is aware of the Investigator\u2019s responsibilities regarding disclosure of SFIs and applicable federal regulations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other Conflicts of Interest<\/strong>&nbsp;(COI)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other conflicts of interest exist where the investigator has a personal relationship with a team member or study subject. All conflicts of interest, whether financial or personal, should be reported through Maestro and\/or email to the conflict of interest officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tarleton\u2019s conflict of interest officials are Dr. Rupa Iyer (Institutional Official) and Dr. Veena Naik (Senior Research Compliance Administrator).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-m-system\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rules-saps.tamu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A&amp;M System Policy and Regulations<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Conflict of Interest Policy: \u201cpurpose is to protect the credibility and integrity of System researchers and staff, as well as component universities and agencies themselves, so that public trust and confidence in their sponsored research activities are maintained.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/policies.tamus.edu\/17-01.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intellectual Property Management and Commercialization<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/rules-saps.tamu.edu\/PDFs\/15.99.03.M1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ethics in Research and Scholarship<\/a>: \u201cThe credibility of academic research and scholarship depends critically on the integrity with which it is designed, conducted, documented, and communicated. As institutions of higher education committed to the advancement of scholarship, the System and each of its components are responsible for promoting academic practices that encourage honesty and scientific integrity, and develop rules and procedures for dealing with allegations or other indications of fraud or serious misconduct.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/policies.tamus.edu\/15-01-01.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Administration of Sponsored Agreements \u2013 Research and Other<\/a>: House Bill 1295, effective September 1, 2015, amended requirements under Texas Education Code, sections 51.954 and 51.955, for full and conspicuous disclosure of research sponsors on all oral and written communications intended for public consumption. Any faculty member, employee, or appointee of the TAMU System or its members must comply with this requirement. Under this statute, sponsored research is considered to be any activity conducted under contract with an external individual or entity, where the external entity has provide any level of monetary, material, or in-kind support for the research. Public communications may include but not necessarily limited to oral administrative, legislative, regulatory, or judicial testimony, printed materials including magazine, journals, newsletters, briefs, brochures, or web publications. Conspicuous disclosure implies that the sponsor\u2019s identity must be presented in a manner that a reasonable person would notice or be capable of hearing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Responsible Conduct of Research Tarleton State University requires all faculty, staff and students eligible to conduct research be trained in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). All research eligible individuals must &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":960,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8443","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/author\/swmmangold1\/","display_name":"swmmangold1"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 days ago","modified":"Updated 2 days ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 28, 2026","modified":"Updated on April 28, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 28, 2026 2:02 pm","modified":"Updated on April 28, 2026 2:08 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8443"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8450,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8443\/revisions\/8450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}