Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Requirements


This page reviews the principles of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) and the use of CITI courses to satisfy RCR training requirements.

Please note: this is not the same as the Human Subjects Research (HSR) training required for IRB applications. For instructions regarding HSR training, visit CITI Program Training for IRB Requirements.


Commonly asked Questions

  • What is Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)?

    What is Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)?

    Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research. Projects funded by NSF, NIFA, and NIH have different requirements regarding training that vary by funder and role on the study.

    RCR courses vary by discipline. You only need to complete one of these based on your field of study:

    • Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research Course
    • Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course
    • Physical Science Responsible Conduct of Research Course
    • Humanities Responsible Conduct of Research Course
    • Responsible Conduct of Research for Engineers
  • Do I have to complete RCR training?

    Do I have to complete RCR training?

    UCR encourages all students and faculty to complete RCR training. If you are working on a project funded by NSF, NIFA, or NIH it is likely that some RCR training requirements apply to your participation.

  • What are the training requirements for specific funding agencies?

    What are the training requirements for specific funding agencies?

    Projects funded by NSF and NIFA have different requirements regarding training in RCR. 

    NIH RCR training requirements cannot be met by completing CITI courses since they must be face-to-face or in-person training.

    Federal funding agencies that have requirements for RCR training

    Federal Funder Minimal Requirement for RCR Target Audience
    (who must do the training)
    CITI RCR Training
    Qualifies
    Notes
    NSF Online or face-to-face training Faculty, Senior personnel, Undergraduates,
    Graduate students,
    Postdoctoral researchers
    Includes faculty training
    NIFA Online or face-to-face training Faculty,
    Program Directors,
    Undergraduate students,
    Postdoctoral researchers,
    any staff
    Includes faculty training
    NIH * Face-to-face training/interaction

    Trainees, Fellows,
    Scholars, Participants

    Must be completed at least once during each career state and at least once every 4 years

     

    * For NIH, the requirements for such training apply to all NIH Institutional Research Training Grants, Individual Fellowship Awards, Career Development Awards (Institutional and Individual), Research Education Grants, and Dissertation Research Grants. The programs are listed as:

    D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R.

  • Where do I obtain the required training?

    Where do I obtain the required training?

    • NSF or NIFA funding: use CITI's online RCR training to fulfill the RCR training requirements.
       
    • NIH funding: face-to-face RCR training is required. Contact the Director of the Research Ethics Education Program, Dr. Dena Plemmons at dena.plemmons@ucr.edu or 951-827-4312
  • Where can I find more information regarding RCR?

    Where can I find more information regarding RCR?

    Several resources are available for UCR researchers. The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) provides RCR information in the RCR section of the Resources Page. Also, many professional societies and governmental licensing authorities have adopted policies or best practices that might be usefully considered.

  • What units on Campus are involved in RCR training?
  • Whom can I contact?

    Whom can I contact?

    If you need to arrange for in-person RCR training, or are interested in templates for tracking training, contact the Director of the Research Ethics Education Program, Dr. Dena Plemmons at dena.plemmons@ucr.edu or 951-827-4312

    For information regarding online training and requirements, contact RED's AVC Charles Greer at charles.greer@ucr.edu

  • Step-by-step instructions to enroll in CITI Program's Online RCR Training

    CITI Program's Online RCR Training

     

    Step One: Create/Access Your Account

    1. Choose the Log In button at https://citiprogram.org 
      ori-citi-login.png

       

    2. Click Log In Through My Organization
       
    3. Start typing University of California at Riverside and select it when it appears on the list
       
       ori-citi-sso.png

       

    4. The first time you log on through UCR’s Single Sign On, the system will ask whether you have an existing CITI account that you would like to merge with the account being created. If you wish to merge an existing account, choose “I already have a CITI Program account.” Otherwise, choose "I don’t have a CITI Program account and I need to create one.”

      ori-citi-associate-accounts.png

      If you choose to link an existing account, the system will ask for the username and password associated with that account before linking it to your Single Sign On account.

     

    Step Two: Select Curriculum

    If there are no courses associated with your account yet, you will be taken to the Select Curriculum page. If you decide to wait to add courses, click the My Courses link when you return to the account and then click the View Courses button next to University of California at Riverside. 

    ori-citi-mycourses.png


    Also on this page, you will find links that will allow you to affiliate your account with UCR. If you logged in using UCR's Single Sign On application, then your account is probably already affiliated with UCR and you don't need to do this. If you do not see UCR on this page, then your account is not yet affiliated with UCR. Adding a UCR affiliation will allow any future training completion records to be automatically added to Kuali Research protocols where you are listed as a laboratory member.

    For details on adding affiliations and transferring completion records for courses completed prior to affiliating your account with UCR, see this Knowledge Base article  at citiprogram.org.

    To add new courses to your account, click the Add a Course link in the gray box near the bottom of the My Courses page.

    ori-citi-addcourse.png

     

    This brings up the Select Curriculum page, which displays a series of checkboxes to identify the course category(ies) that you'd like to add. 

    ori-citi-selectcourses-rcr.png

     

    The next section asks you to choose specific courses from the selected category. Choose the courses that most closely match your area of research. The regulations require you to complete at least one course. You are welcome to select as many as you like.

    ori-citi-rcr-courses.png

     

    At the end of the selection, a message indicates that your enrollment was successful and the courses now appear on your My Courses page. You can repeat the Add Courses process whenever you want to add other courses to your account.

    ori-enrolled.png

     

    You can start the training right away or complete it later by exiting and logging back in when you are ready.
     

    Step Three: Verify Your Completion Records

    CITI automatically records Human Subjects training data and in most cases your completion can be confirmed by UCR staff. However, you may choose to generate a certificate of completion for your own records. This is especially important if you completed the training through a different institution, since UCR staff can only access records for people who affiliated with UCR prior to completing the training.

    1. Log in to https://www.citiprogram.org/


    2. On the My Courses page, click the View Courses button to see a list of your complete and incomplete courses
      ori-citi-viewcourses.png

       

    3. Click the View-Print-Share Record button for the desired course
      ori-citi-certificate-rcr.png

       

    4. Select the method you would like to use for sharing your training completion and click the associated button
      ori-citi-viewprintcopy.png

       

    For Technical questions, contact CITI at support@citiprogram.org or 1-888-529-5929.