Research Guides: Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activity: UNH's RCR Program

UNH's RCR Program

As a land-grant institution, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) is accountable to New Hampshire residents and to the university community to ensure the ethical and safe conduct of research and scholarly activity. As an institution of higher education that prides itself on extensive research endeavors and the involvement of undergraduates and graduate students in research projects, UNH has an obligation to teach and actively promote integrity in research and scholarship.

To fulfill its obligations, UNH has embarked on a program on the responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity (RCR) to:

Raise the consciousness of faculty, staff, and students regarding the ethical and responsible conduct of research and scholarly activity,
Establish a knowledge base that defines normative and/or professional behavior to assist faculty, staff, and students in making ethical and responsible decisions in the conduct of research and scholarly activity, and
Foster an institutional culture of integrity in research and scholarly activity encompassing all stages of individuals' careers.

In February 2019, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarly Activity (RCR) Committee endorsed the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Code of Conduct (Section III, pages 4-6). In endorsing the AGU Code of Conduct, the UNH RCR Committee is setting forth expectations for behavior that fosters and supports a safe, inclusive, and professional environment for faculty, staff, and students at UNH to pursue and conduct scholarly and research activities. [Where an AGU policy is cited in Section III that differs from UNH’s (such as the definition of scientific misconduct), UNH’s prevails, and where an AGU policy differs from that of an individual’s professional society if other than AGU, the latter prevails for that person.] (For reference, click here for UNH's policy on Misconduct in Scholarly Activity, and here for UNH's policy on Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment.)

The following are the components of UNH's RCR program, in addition to this UNH RCR Library Guide:

UNH Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activities (RCR) Committee
The charge of the Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarly Activity (RCR) Committee is to: (1) Guide the development and implementation of a UNH RCR program, including development of a Web-based program of instruction, complementary formal and informal educational offerings, and ongoing communication with UNH faculty, students, and staff about the initiative and related issues; (2) Advise the SVPR and Dean of the Graduate School on related policy formulation, implementation, and training; and (3) Advocate within the UNH community for the RCR program.
Triannual RCR Training at UNH
The UNH Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarly Activity (RCR) Committee offers training in the ethical and responsible conduct of research three times a year; February, May, and October. This training opportunity involves two components: (1) Completion of a web-based RCR course via the CITI Program, followed by, (2) Participation in a 3 hour seminar.
Annual Incoming Ph.D. Student RCR Training
The UNH Graduate Council has mandated all incoming Ph.D. students attend RCR training by the end of their first semester.
UNH RCR Workshops
A series of workshops each academic year on the theme of Research Integrity from Inception through Dissemination, addressing topics that arise during the life cycle of a research study.
UNH Responsible Conduct of Research Case Study Series
The cases are used in the UNH RCR training sessions and the UNH Graduate School's course in research ethics (GRAD 930). Each case study is real (not contrived), and includes discussion questions.
Doris Kearns Goodwin ~ A case involving plagiarism.
Marc Hauser ~ A case involving data falsification and data management issues.
Michael LaCour ~ A case involving data fabrication and falsification, and mentoring issues.
Eric Poehlman ~ A case involving data falsification, and mentoring and data management issues.
Jan Hendrik Schon ~ A case involving data fabrication, and data management and authorship issues.
Brian Wansink ~ A case involving data fabrication, data manipulation, management, and reporting issues, inappropriate statistical techniques, authorship issues, and text recycling without adequate citation.
Paul McCory ~ A case involving plagiarism and text recycling without adequate citation.
Doing the Right Thing: Jolie Wormwood ~ A case involving retracting an article for data errors.
Simple Guides
UNH RCR Committee members have published several Simple Guides to address research integrity in different areas.
GRAD 930: Ethics in Research and Scholarship
UNH offers a graduate course in responsible conduct of research each Fall semester: GRAD 930 Ethics in Research and Scholarship. This course examines questions and issues related to the conduct of research and scholarship. Questions include: Who owns the research data that you just collected? What constitutes plagiarism? What should you consider when involving people in your research? Participants gain knowledge of professional and ethical standards of behavior in research and scholarship as well as pertinent regulations, policies, and guidelines. Through case study analysis and discussion participants will learn to identify and to analyze ethical issues that may arise in their professional careers in order to develop reasoned and justifiable plans of action. The course stresses both principles and application.
INCO 490A: Fundamentals of Research Integrity
UNH offers an undergraduate course in responsible conduct of research each Spring semester: INCO 490A Fundamentals of Research Integrity. Undergraduate students interested in conducting research or those already conducting research will explore individual, professional, institutional and social issues related to the ethical conduct of research and scholarship. Students will use case studies as well as share their research interests and experience to investigate topics of data management, authorship, mentorship, human subjects, use of vertebrate animals, and scientific integrity.

UNH Faculty, Staff and Students Involved in UNH's RCR Program

The following current or former UNH faculty, staff, and students are/have been involved in UNH's RCR program as instructors or facilitators:

Chris Bauer
Jessica Bolker
Will Clyde
Patricia Condon
Andrew Coppens
Summer Cook
Todd DeMitchell
Kurk Dorsey
Maria Emanuel
Tim Fukawa-Connelly
Kevin Gardner
Meg Greenslade
Cyndee Gruden
Robert Henry
Shawna Hollen
Ian Honsberger
Ju-Chin Huang
Yannis Korkolis
Andrew Kun
Anne Lightbody
Alberto Manalo
Alecia Magnifico
Jill McGaughy
Ricardo Medina
Dawn Meredith
Cari Moorhead
Paula Mouser
David Pillemer
Thomas Pistole
Jimmy Raeder
Rebecca Rowe
Nathan Schwadron
Julie Simpson
Timm Triplett
Krisztina Varga
Chris White
Jim Wible