Teaching RCR to undergraduate and graduate audiences: college sophomores, seniors and graduate stude

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Teaching RCR to undergraduate and graduate
audiences college sophomores, seniors and
graduate students
Julio F. Turrens, Ph.D.Associate DeanCollege of
Allied Health ProfessionsUniversity of South
Alabama
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• Why do we need training in RCR?
• Because we believe we know, but we dont
  always know

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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

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• 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

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Evaluations

• 1 hour undergraduate course

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(No Transcript)
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Evaluations
Undergraduate Course (BMD 493)
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(No Transcript)
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Evaluations
Summer Research Program
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(No Transcript)
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Evaluations

• Graduate Course Fall 08

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• 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)

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• 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)

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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