Policies, Guidelines, and Best Practices
Responsible Conduct of Research Plan and Instructions
Allegheny College undergraduate students participating in paid research, supported either by the college with internal funding sources or by external sources such as grants, must participate in training in the responsible conduct of research. At a minimum, students, regardless of whether their research is in a humanities, social science, or natural science discipline, must complete the “Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)” offered by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). The following modules are part of the Responsible Conduct of Research course and need to be completed:
- Authorship (RCR-Basic) (ID 16597)
- Collaborative Research (RCR-Basic) (ID 16598)
- Conflicts of Interest (RCR-Basic) (ID 16599)
- Data Management (RCR-Basic) (ID 16600)
- Mentoring (RCR-Basic) (ID 16602)
- Peer Review (RCR-Basic) (ID 16603)
- Research Misconduct (RCR-Basic) (ID 16604)
- Plagiarism (RCR-Basic) (ID 15156) 25-Jan-2019
- Using Animal Subjects in Research (RCR-Basic) (ID 13301)
- Research Involving Human Subjects (RCR-Basic) (ID 13566)
- Research, Ethics, and Society (ID 15198)
Please follow this link to find instructions on how to log in (or create an account) with CITI so that you can complete your required training. Summer students conducting research that is part URSCA’s Student-Faculty Research program must complete the above RCR modules within 7 days of your summer start date.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) & Animal Research Committee (ARC)
There are two review boards that exist at Allegheny College that review research proposals, conduct facilities inspections, and ensure that student and faculty research techniques/approaches follow the required Federal guidelines.
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) ensures that research on human participants, by Allegheny College faculty, students, staff or administrators, or conducted at Allegheny College, complies with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requirements (specifically the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 45, Part 46).
The Animal Research Committee (ARC) is the committee that oversees Allegheny’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and they are responsible for oversight of the animal care and use program of non-human vertebrates and its components as described in the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Students, and faculty, conducting research with human subjects and/or non-human vertebrates are required to obtain approval prior to starting any research. Each committee has a proposal that you need to complete that, upon completion, is reviewed by the respective committee. Please note that depending on the type of research you are conducting, you may be required to complete additional CITI courses prior to getting IRB or ARC approval. Student researchers should first discuss this with their faculty mentors or email the chair of either committee with any questions.
Incentives to Participants in Research
Faculty and student researchers occasionally offer incentives, such as gift cards or gift certificates, to increase participation in their research. If your research project involves this, please read this document and discuss this topic with the Finance Office at Allegheny College before you start your research.
Responsible Conduct of Research for the Sciences Resources
Registration Instructions for the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) for the Sciences Course
Students conducting research that is funded by the National Science Foundation must complete a responsible conduct of research course before conducting the research. In addition, all students conducting summer research with an Allegheny faculty mentor must complete a responsible conduct of research course before June 1, 2010. To satisfy that mandate, Allegheny College has contracted with the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) to provide an on-line course. This course is designed for students conducting research that does not involve human participants. If your research includes human participants, you are required to complete an additional certification and submit information to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Please visit the Institutional Review Board for information.
If the research does not involve human participants, the links under Resources to the right connect you to the instructions needed to register with CITI and a link to the CITI home page. In addition, there is a link to the Belmont Report which has served as the basis for defining ethical conduct in research, particularly human research.
Once you begin the course, you may stop and save your work at any time. To receive certification, you must achieve an over all score of at least 80% for the required modules. Please remember that individual scores are not reported to Allegheny College. All that the College receives is a notification when a registered individual successfully completes the required modules. Certification is valid for a three-year period.
