The "ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research" draws together in a single, easy-to-read book the fundamentals of responsible research. Readers are guided through the complex world of regulations and best practices, from initial design through to publication. Each chapter is devoted to one of ORI's nine core areas, include: research misconduct, human and animal research, data management, conflict of interest, collaboration, mentoring, authorship and peer review.
While it is often assumed that researchers learn responsible practices on the job, many do not. And unfortunately, sometimes what they learn on the job is misguided or wrong. The "ORI Introduction to RCR" provides an easy way for anyone from beginning undergraduate researcher to experienced postdoc, faculty member or industrial scientist to learn what society expects of them as professionals. Opening cases, study questions, and additional readings make this book ideal for classroom use. A series of original cartoons by artist David Zinn at the beginning of each chapter use humor as a way to engage the reader in this serious and vitally important topic.
This important and authoritative publication was created by the U.S. Government to further activities and support programs that enhance education in the responsible conduct of scientific research. It supplements existing resources by making a comprehensive overview of basic rules of the road for responsible research available to all Public Health Service funded researchers, with a special focus on the needs of small and mid-size research institution and beginning researchers in mind.
U.S. Health and Human Services Dept., Office of Research Integrity
Nicholas H. Steneck is a Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Michigan and a part-time consultant at the Office of Research Integrity, HHS. He joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1970 after graduate studies in history and the history of science at the University of Wisconsin. His early published works ranged from discussions of medieval and early modern science ("Science and Creation," 1976) to post-World War II science policy in the US ("The Microwave Debate," 1984). In the mid-1980s, Professor Steneck took an active role in the policy discussions relating to responsibility in research and research policy. He chaired the University of Michigan's pioneering Task Force on Integrity in Scholarship (1984) and went on to chair the Public Health Service Advisory Committee on Research Integrity (1991-1993). He has published articles on the history of research misconduct policy, responsible conduct of research instruction, the use of animals in research, classified research and academic freedom, and the role of values in university research. Most recently, he authored the "ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research" (2004; translated into Japanese, Chinese, and Korean). In recognition of his work on research integrity and the history of science, he was made a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1992.
Professor Steneck is currently the Co-chair of the ORI-ESF World Conference on Research Integrity, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal in September 2007. He also directs the ORI Research on Research Integrity Program and is actively engaged in developing new approaches to responsible conduct of research (RCR) education. In the later capacity he will organize and chair the first major National Conference on Responsible Conduct of Research Education, which will be held in April 2008.
