Research

Advanced RCR Graduate Courses

Successful completion of one of the following pre-approved courses or workshops will satisfy the advanced RCR training requirement for graduate students studying on campus toward a MS report/thesis or PhD.  Because several of these courses are taught on demand, students are encouraged to contact the instructor when they are planning their study curriculum to ensure the course will be offered during the semester they plan to take it.

*course descriptions available in Graduate Course Catalog

Approved Advanced RCR Graduate Courses
Course # Course Name Instructor(s) Offered
CM 5621 Research Essentials Dr. Rebecca Ong or Dr. Timothy Eisele Fall
BL 5025 The Scientific Profession Contact Biology Office for more info. Spring
FW 5811 Advanced Responsible Conduct of Research in Natural Resources Contact Forest Resources and Env. Science Office for more info. 3-day course between spring and summer
HU 5177 / EH 5711 Bioethics Contact Humanities Office for more info. Yes
PSY 5020 Research Methods Contact PHF Office for more info. Spring
SS 4211 Ethnographic Methods Contact SS Office for more info. Spring
SS 5950 Professional Development Dr. Mark Rouleau Spring
SS 6002 Research Design Dr. Chelsea Schelly

Spring
UN 5500 Research Integrity Workshop Dr. Mike Bowler Summer

Creating New Advanced RCR Graduate Courses

Faculty Seeking to Create a New Approved Advanced RCR Graduate Course or Workshop

If you are interested in establishing an approved advanced RCR graduate course or workshop, please contact RCR-l@mtu.edu. Approved RCR courses must include topics from the NIH, NSF, and NIFA guidance on responsible conduct of research.

Main topics include:

  • conflict of interest – personal, professional, and financial and conflict of commitment, in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
  • policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
  • mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
  • collaborative research including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
  • peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
  • data acquisition and laboratory tools; management, sharing and ownership
  • secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
  • research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
  • responsible authorship and publication
  • the scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research

Note: NIH requires significant face-to-face interaction and discussion is expected to occur among trainees, fellows, scholars, and/or participants. Online instruction alone is not sufficient to satisfy the training requirement.

In developing an advanced RCR graduate course or workshop, instructors should weigh the importance of the recommended topics with respect to the field of study of the students they will be teaching.  For example, engineering students may need only a brief overview of policies regarding human and animal research protection while other topics more closely related to the discipline of study may need greater emphasis.

Additional External Resources for Developing Advanced RCR Content within a Course

Additional Internal Resources for Michigan Tech Specific Content