Policies, Responsibilities, and Procedures
Introduction and Guide to Resources on Research Ethics
Ethics are fundamental to all academic research. They foster the trust necessary for complex institutions of modern research to function. In particular, researchers’ behavior must inspire their colleagues’ trust in their research results and the public’s trust that the information created through university research is reliable and that public funding of research is valuable. In addition, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requirement that all NIH trainees receive training in research ethics has increased interest in research ethics.
UW-Madison NSF RCR Training
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: The National Science Foundation, by mandate of the United States Congress in the America Competes Act, Section 7009 requires all undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF research funding to receive training in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). All undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF research funding at the University of Wisconsin must take the Responsible Conduct of Research course in Learn@UW. This training is also recommended for those not currently required to complete this course.
This applies to all NSF awards granted for proposals submitted on or after January 4, 2010.
To register for the course, please use your UW NetID and password to login to Learn@UW. In the upper right corner next to the current date, is a self register option. Please click on Self Register and then on Responsible Conduct of Research. This will walk you through a series of verifications. Once you have completed the registration, you have successfully registered for the course.
Click here to Login to Learn@UW.
Help desk for UW-Madison NSF RCR training: hnmcfadden@grad.wisc.edu or 608-890-2468.
NIH Training Topics
The NIH recommends topics to be covered in research ethics training. They have become the standard for RCR education.
- Animal welfare
- Collaborative science
- Conflict of interest and commitment
- Data acquisition, management, sharing and ownership
- Human subjects
- Mentor/trainee responsibilities
- Publication practices, responsible authorship, and peer review
- Research misconduct
Responsible Conduct of Research Resources