Contact: Responsible Conduct of Research Officer
The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Program at Ball State University is a comprehensive initiative dedicated to ensuring ethical, honest, and accountable conduct of research activities within the institution.
All universities applying for or receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to establish an RCR training plan for faculty, staff, and students receiving grant-funded support. In compliance with NIH and NSF training requirements and recommendations, the RCR Program has established two in-person training programs: training for faculty researchers and staff and training for students.
In-person training is mandatory for all faculty, staff, and students receiving support from an NIH or NSF educational, training, or research grant which meets the following criteria:
- Any NSF-funded project with a proposal submitted on or after July 31, 2023
- Any NSF or NIH-funded project beginning after September 1, 2021, and continuing after September 1, 2024
These programs are meant to complement required Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training and are not intended to replace CITI training for those for whom it is required.
Training Programs
About the Training
Ball State University (BSU) strongly supports the ethical and responsible conduct of research, regardless of funding status or source through training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). RCR training is available to researchers through BSU’s partnership with the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) also provides in-person instruction in RCR as a supplement to CITI training. This training is open to all BSU faculty, students, and staff but is required of those researchers receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) research or educational grants.
To view Ball State University’s Office of Research Integrity Training Plan, click here.
CITI Training
CITI training is required of all investigators participating in research involving the use of human subjects, or animals. All required CITI training must be completed prior to beginning work on a project. Completion of these trainings is documented by the IRB and IACUC through the required submission of certificates of completion at the time of project proposal submission.
CITI Training consists of a series of online modules, followed by brief quizzes. A score of at least 80% must be achieved on each post-module quiz for training to be considered sufficient. Instructions for registering and taking the RCR courses can be found on page 11 of the CITI Program Manual (PDF).
Responsible Conduct of Research Training (For Faculty and Staff)
In-person training in RCR is provided to faculty and staff researchers receiving NIH or NSF-funded support through BSU’s Responsible Conduct of Research Training Program. This training program provides investigators the opportunity to further their understanding of the core values of RCR by working through complex research ethics scenarios in a collaborative learning environment.
Training for faculty and staff researchers is offered each semester as an in-person seminar. Training must be completed by the end of the semester following the semester during which funding is made available for the project.
Responsible Conduct of Research (Student Training Program)
In-person training in RCR is provided to student researchers receiving NIH or NSF-funded support through BSU’s Responsible Conduct of Research Student Training Program. This program is designed to familiarize student researchers with the core values of RCR. Instruction is provided using a multi-modal approach including interactive face-to-face instruction, expert guest speakers, and the consideration of case studies.
For more information on this training program, including a schedule of training events, visit our RCR Student Training Program webpage.
RCR Student Training Program Schedule
The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Training Requirements
The NSF requires institutions applying for or receiving NSF funding for research or educational purposes to provide training in the responsible and ethical conduct of research. Training participation is required for all undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and other senior personnel supported by the proposed research project.
Learn More About The NSF Training Requirements
National Institutes of Health Training Requirement
The NIH requires institutions receiving NIH funding through a research, career development, educational, or dissertation research grant to provide RCR training to all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving NIH grant-funded support. These training requirements aim to ensure investigators involved in NIH-funded research are knowledgeable in the ethical considerations and best practices essential for maintaining the highest standards of research conduct.
Learn More About The NIH Training Requirements
Authorship
Authorship on a scientific publication and/or creative project is both a reward and a responsibility. The completion and signing on this agreement (Word) aids in the avoidance of conflicts on who should and will be included as an author on scholarly work. For specific rules and recommendations regarding who (in general) qualifies for authorship, please refer to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Research Integrity’s policy on authorship and publication or the Ball State General Authorship Guidelines.
All BSU researchers are encouraged to share their scholarly findings in the form accepted by the university. This web page serves as a general guideline for consideration of the important issues and questions surrounding authorship and publication.
- Author: An individual who has made substantial intellectual contributions to a scientific investigation, usually through participation in drafting, reviewing, and/or revising the manuscript for intellectual content.
- Authorship: The ability to publicly take responsibility for the contents of the project (e.g., being sufficiently knowledgeable about the project to be able to present it in a formal forum).
- Collaborative Research: Equal partnership between two academic faculty members who are pursing mutually interesting and beneficial research, or ii. research involving investigators of differing stature, funding status, and types of organizations or institutions.
- Data: Information collected for reference and analysis.
- Data Ownership: Refers to both the possession of and responsibility for information.
- Plagiarism: To steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s own; literary theft.
- Presentation: A demonstration or display of a project and project findings.
- Publication: A structured and controlled means of communicating research results.
Lead Author
- Assumes overall responsibility for the manuscript and often serves as the managerial and corresponding author.
- Is not necessarily the primary investigator.
Co-Authors
Authors included in the project that are not the lead author.
Acknowledgements
Individual(s) who may have made some contribution to a publication, but who do not meet the criteria for authorship, including:
- Staff
- Editorial Assistants
- Medical Writers
- Others
The order of authorship should be based on the degree of importance of each author’s contribution to the project. This is a collective decision among the authors in a group.
Generally, examples of substantive contributions of authors include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Aiding in the conceptualization of the hypotheses.
- Designing the methodology of the investigation.
- Significantly contributing to the writing of the manuscript.
These activities are not (alone) sufficient grounds for authorship:
- Entering information into databases.
- Collecting data (running subjects, collecting specimens, distributing and collecting questionnaires.)
Faculty-student collaborations should follow the same criteria to establish authorship. Mentors must exercise great care to neither award authorship to students who contributions do not merit it, nor deny authorship and due credit to the word of students.
Forms of unacceptable authorship include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Ghost Authorship: occurs when a written work fails to identify individuals who made significant contributions to the research and writing of that work.
- Guest Authorship: granted out of the appreciation of respect of an individual, or in the belief that expert standing of the guest will increase the likelihood of publication, credibility, or status of the work.
- Gift Authorship: credit offered from a sense of obligation, tribute, or dependence, within the context of an anticipated benefit, to an individual who has not contributed to the work; also known as honorary authorship.
In the case of an authorship dispute (i.e. disagreement over authorship and order of authors), it is the responsibility of the group to resolve the problem. If a resolution cannot be reached, any concerned party from the group is encouraged to contact the Office of Research Integrity.
Mentorship
Research mentorships are mutually beneficial relationships where an experienced researcher, known as the mentor, shares their expertise, knowledge, and wisdom with a student or early-career researcher, the mentee. By modeling ethical research practices, mentors play a crucial role in educating mentees in responsible conduct of research (RCR).
All BSU researchers are encouraged to utilize mentorship as a means of both professional development and responsible conduction of research. This web page serves as a general guideline for consideration of the important issues and questions surrounding mentorship.
Please check back during the fall of 2024 for updated mentoring resources including a new mentorship toolkit and mentorship agreement document.
Access the current Ball State University Mentoring Contract here.
Mentorship Relationship Resources:
Mentorship Agreement Resources:
Notice: New Mentorship Requirements for Those Receiving Support through National Science Foundation (NSF) funds (effective May 20, 2024)
If seeking support from the NSF and the proposal includes support for graduate students or post-doctoral scholars, it is mandatory to submit a 1-page “Mentoring Plan” at the time of proposal submission. If funded, Individual Development Plans (IDP) must be developed for each graduate student or post-doctoral scholar, and these IDPs must be updated annually.
Per NSF PAPPG 24-1, all proposals submitted to the NSF on or after May 20, 2024, that request support for graduate students or postdoctoral scholars must comply with the following:
If funded, an IDP must be created for each graduate student or post-doctoral scholar receiving support from the award. IDPs must be updated annually, and PIs or co-PIs must certify that each mentee has an IDP at the time of submitting each annual report and final annual report. Information about IDPs will be made available here in the coming months.
View BSU's Mentoring Plan Guidance Document here.
View NSF’s Mentoring Plan resource page here.
Mentoring plans should meet the following requirements:
PIs must certify that each postdoctoral scholar and graduate receiving support from the award has an Individual Development Plan (IDP) which maps educational goals, career exploration, and professional development. Project reports should address all mentorship activities under the Broader Impacts criterion, even when not directly related to the research. Reporting is not cumulative and should be written outlining only activities occurring throughout the current budget period.
Please work with your SPA Proposal Manager or the Responsible Conduct of Research Officer, when developing your plan for inclusion in your proposal.