Responsible Conduct of Research

NJIT research community is committed to the highest standards of professional integrity, ethics and responsible conduct of research.

Research Compliance

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) is the practice of scientific investigation with integrity. It involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research. Ethical and responsible conduct of research is critical for excellence in science and engineering, maintaining the public's trust, as well as for protecting institutions, investigators, research subjects, environment, federal funds, the public, and national interests. Consequently, education in the responsible and ethical conduct of research is considered essential in the preparation of future scientists and engineers.

RCR Required Training: NJIT requires that all personnel engaged in research be trained in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) as part of their Research University experience as well as to meet institutional obligations as a federal grantee institution. NJIT has selected the electronic CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) RCR course in the Responsible Conduct of Research to provide general and program-specific courses in RCR. All those with an NJIT UCID and NJIT email address are able to register for RCR training via the CITI portal.

Federal Requirements

Federal requirements require Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training for scholars funded by NSF, USDA and NIH.  Those requirements are detailed below and can be fulfilled via the CITI Training Portal.

National Science Foundation (NSF):  The recent America COMPETES Act requires responsible conduct of research (RCR) training for all undergraduates, graduates, and post-doctoral fellows who conduct research supported by NSF funds. All institutions submitting applications must certify at the time of application submission that plans are in place to provide appropriate training and oversight of the RCR training.

National Institutes of Health (NIH):  NIH requires that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and dissertation research grant and who have direct and substantive involvement in proposing, performing, reviewing, or reporting research, or who receive research training must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Effective for awards subject to the February 2013 Research Terms and Conditions (and those issued subsequently), the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has mandated that program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and any staff participating in the research project receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research (RCR). Any award issued after February 1, 2013 must comply with this requirement.