Standards of Scientific Conduct

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Discussion of standards of responsible conduct of research (RCR) is recognized as an important part of RCR education. However, almost no empirical research has addressed the common practices of scientists, the views of scientists about ideal standards, or how practices and ideals vary among different research disciplines. We strongly believe that scientists are in the best position to identify and articulate selected standards of scientific conduct. Therefore, we propose to poll active research scientists about standards in three areas: data management, collaboration, and authorship. This will be accomplished with focus group discussions, interviews, and a survey. Recognizing that differences are likely to occur not only within research areas, but also between research areas, four different disciplines have been selected for study: microbiology, neuroscience, nursing, and psychology. The two specific aims of this project are: (1) Construct framework for national survey of RCR standards (focus group discussions with mixed discipline and discipline-specific groups of researchers) and (2) Conduct national survey of RCR standards (interviews of research scientists and Web-based survey of faculty in doctoral programs for each of the four disciplines). Variation of standards within research disciplines as well as differences between disciplines will be identified. The results of this investigation will provide an evidence-based rationale for what RCR course instructors should teach about the standards of responsible conduct. Effective teaching about standards of the responsible conduct of research will help to promote public health by fostering integrity in the conduct of biomedical research.