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RCR Core Areas

RCR instruction and education focuses on nine core areas as outlined by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). In addition to the nine core areas described below, the ORI website has:

Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership
Conflict of Interest and Commitment
Human Subjects
Animal Care
Research Misconduct
Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship
Mentor/Trainee Responsibilities
Peer Review
Collaborative Science

Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing and Ownership [ORI Definition]
This core area includes the acceptable ethical practices for acquiring, managing, sharing and maintaining ownership of research data. The area applies to both the physical and social and behavioral sciences. Information encompasses other areas such as: data retention and how data is stored; analysis of data; data as intellectual property; privacy and confidentiality of data; the collection and ownership of data when conducting research funded by a grant or contract; and the maintenance of data in electronic format.

Conflict of Interest and Commitment [ORI Definition]
“Legitimate research interests can create competing responsibilities and lead to what is called conflicts of interest” (Steneck, ORI, pg.68). This area includes a range of conflicts that may be encountered in the research environment such as: conflicts related to financial obligations; relationships and obligations with colleagues; and conflicts related to publication. Conflicts of commitment may arise when confronting challenges such as time constraints to complete research/scholarly activities and teaching; working on multiple research projects; and challenges with time constraints in trying to do effective research, scholarship and service/community obligations.

Human Subjects [ORI Definition]
Miami University has an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that reviews, approves and monitors all research projects that involve human subjects to ensure that all researchers comply with federal and institutional guidelines regarding the ethical treatment of individuals in research studies. All researchers who plan to conduct studies involving human subjects must receive IRB approval prior to initiating their study. Human subjects research issues involve: ethical treatment of human participants regarding informed consent and confidentiality; ensuring that the benefits of a study outweigh the risks; effective research design and protocol implementation to ensure ethical treatment of human subjects throughout the research process; and ensuring the ethical treatment and protection of subjects who have been regarded as special populations according to federal guidelines such as pregnant women, persons of color, children and adolescents and persons who are public offenders.

The Care and Use of Animals in Research [ORI Definition]
Miami University has an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) that reviews, approves and monitors all research projects that involve animals as subjects to ensure that all researchers comply with federal and institutional guidelines regarding the ethical care and treatment of animals in research studies. All researchers who plan to conduct studies involving the use of animals as subjects must receive IACUC approval prior to initiating their study. Animal care research issues include: ensuring the humane treatment of animals; the care and use of animals in research facilities; avoiding and minimizing pain and distress when conducting research with animals; ensuring that all persons working with animals are qualified and trained; and designing research studies ensuring that the benefits of the study outweigh the risks to animal welfare.

Research Misconduct [ORI Definition]
This core area applies to all areas involving practices of research misconduct. A new federal policy was recently implemented to further enforce the importance of regulation in this area (refer to www.ori.gov for full description). This area addresses the importance of establishing procedures for reporting misconduct in research and protections for whistleblowers. Additional issues in this core area include: the importance of understanding the difference between error vs. intentional misconduct, fabrication and falsification of data, and plagiarism.

*For information on Miami University policy and procedures for reporting research misconduct, please refer to the Research Misconduct section found on this website under Research Compliance or the Miami University Policy and Procedures Manual (MUPIM), Section 15.9.

Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship [ORI Definition]
As an institution that values the importance of scholarship, this core area further emphasizes the Miami University tenet of regarding responsible conduct in the area of authorship and publication practices. Issues in this core area include: the importance of citations in research, decisions around authorship credit, and publication of research procedures.

Mentor/Trainee Responsibilities [ORI Definition]
This core area focuses on the roles of undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows as mentees/trainees and their relationships with mentors. Additional issues in this core area include: handling conflicts between mentors and mentees/trainees; the role of mentors and trainees in a research relationship; and selecting a mentor.

Peer Review [ORI Definition]
This core area involves the timely review and evaluation of scientific work by one’s professional colleagues. In conducting peer review, issues such as offering constructive, thorough, non-personal bias, attention and respect for confidentiality and timeliness are stressed. Additional issues in this core area include: ethical obligations for reviewers of manuscripts; the importance of meeting deadlines when conducting peer review; assessing the quality and appropriateness of research methods; examining how quality research may be compromised; how to judge or evaluate the importance of research; and how to conduct confidential peer reviews in the case of grant proposals, manuscripts for scientific publication and personnel matters.

Collaborative Science [ORI Definition]
This core area includes the collective work, resources or knowledge between colleagues on a particular research project. Additional issues in this core area include: developing management plans to address financial issues and research compliance; establishing roles and relationships for each member in the collaboration, establishing criteria to determine authorship, responsibilities for submitting reports, and how intellectual property rights and ownership issues will be resolved.

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