Responsible Conduct of Research

This one-day on-site event held in the Trent Semans Center Great Hall is required for all entering 1st year Biomedical PhD students during orientation prior to the start of classes in August. Topics of the interactive presentations include: Expectations of a graduate student, Concepts in professionalism, Best practices for choosing a rotation and thesis mentor, Self-awareness and wellness, History of ethics and inherent bias, Data documentation and electronic lab notebooks, Understanding and reporting professional misconduct, and diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness. Presenters include the Associate Dean for Research training, faculty and students from SoM graduate training programs and departments, the student ombuds, and the Assistant Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Diversity and Inclusion. Total RCR credit: 4 hours

This course offered in the Spring semester, and required for all 1st year students (Fall ‘20 matriculants or later), utilizes online lectures/modules, in-person lectures and small group discussions, and focuses on RCR and R&R topics for early-stage graduate students. Topics of this course include: understanding your research area, developing a research hypothesis, and designing your research study, as well as research misconduct, mentorship, conflict of interest, policies surrounding the use of human and animal subjects, and data acquisition and laboratory tools. Each topic is accompanied by a short assessment to evaluate learning mastery. Bi-monthly small group sessions centered on expanding the online/lecture material through discussion questions and case studies build community and encourage continual embedded dialogue about best practices in RCR and R&R. Small groups are led by training faculty representing each of the PhD training programs and departments, with teaching assistance from senior graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Total RCR and R&R credit: 4 hours

DOSI-ASIST offers a selection of vetted RCR and R&R training modules through the Duke Learning Management System (DLMS). In Years 2 and 3, students are required to annually take one 60-minute online interactive module from a menu of topics, including laboratory notebook tools, execution, management, and documentation of experiments, as well as communication of research. Each module is accompanied by an assessment. 1 hour credit per module (total RCR and R&R credit: 2 hours)

This course offered in the Spring semester, and required for all 4th year students, utilizes online lectures/modules, in-person lectures, and small group discussions, and focuses on RCR and R&R topics for advanced graduate students. Topics of this course include: data provenance and recordkeeping, data/resource ownership and sharing, research misconduct, mentorship, responsible authorship, publication, and peer review. Each topic is accompanied by a short assessment to evaluate learning mastery. Monthly small group sessions centered on expanding the online/lecture material through discussion questions and case studies build community and encourage continual embedded dialogue about best practices in RCR and R&R. Small groups are led by training faculty representing each of the PhD training programs and departments. Total RCR and R&R credit: 4 hours

In Years 5+, students are required to participate in two RCR Forums. If a student graduates in Year 5, two forums must be taken in one year. A student planning to graduate in Year 6 may take one forum in Year 5 and the other in Year 6. Each forum is a 1 hr lecture followed by a 1-1.5 hr small group discussion on a variety of topics. Forums are held on campus and are open to all graduate students at Duke, including those from the humanities and social sciences. The topics for the RCR Forums vary and serve as “electives” in RCR training. Topics include copyright vs plagiarism, global bioethics, academic freedom and civil discourse, intellectual property, and communication. Because students from the humanities and social sciences participate in forums, these events provide a broader view of RCR than presented in the 1st - 4th year RCR courses. 2 hour credit/forum (Total RCR and R&R credit: 4 hours)

Students in Years 4+ may earn RCR/R&R credit replacing one RCR forum by serving as teaching assistants in BIOTRAIN 751. Participation includes distribution of questions/case studies prior to small group meetings and facilitating discussion with the faculty small group leader. Total RCR and R&R credit: 2 hours

Students who are post-prelim may apply to be part of OBGE’s Peer Mentorship Program. Students serve as mentors for first-year School of Medicine graduate students to guide them through the first year of graduate school and help them build connections among their peers. 1 credit for BIOTRAIN and $1000 stipend