UNM has a variety of training resources in research ethics and integrity. Basic training is provided (and required) for compliance with regulations regarding research with human subjects and for other animals used in research.
Training Program/Consultation Faculty:
Eva Caldera, J.D.
William Gannon
Brian Hjelle
Alexis Kaminsky
Paul Katsafanas
Elly Van Mil
Program Summary
The Research Ethics and Integrity Program is a comprehensive, effective endeavor to create and foster an ongoing climate of ethics and integrity among researchers and trainees at UNM intended to be at the forefront of doctoral intensive universities nationally.
Products that this program will create and maintain at UNM include:
1. Meaningful education with case-based seminar instruction for graduate students, post-doctoral students, and new UNM faculty in the complex and subtle research ethics and integrity issues that are intended to influence researchers over the years ahead; web-based RCR training for existing UNM faculty and research staff.
2. An ongoing evaluation of UNM progress, needs, and status regarding research ethics and integrity
3. Leadership in research ethics and integrity and increased number of research ethics experts on the UNM campus
4. A substantial enhancement of expertise in research ethics and integrity by stimulating major interaction with UNM faculty with other national research ethics experts when they visit UNM and when UNM faculty mix with research ethics experts at national meetings
5. Funded empirical extramural grants to study research ethics and integrity that respond to existing federal announcements soliciting such research
6. A comprehensive webpage that directs researchers, students, and staff to a wide array of research ethics and integrity issues and resources
7. A permanent consultation service to provide all UNM faculty, students and staff face-to-face or web-based access to true experts in research ethics on the UNM campus
These research ethics products will yield the outcomes and products that are very likely to influence research ethics and integrity at UNM in a major way over the years ahead.
Rationale and Overall Justification
The REIP will build progressively over 5 years to develop an effective program to educate: (1) graduate students; (2) post-doctoral students; and (3) new faculty hired at UNM in the basic principles and applications of research ethics and integrity. Implementing such programs has become the national standard toward which all research intensive institutions are now expected to strive. The program will also stimulate faculty empirical research related to research ethics. Finally, this program will provide readily accessible research ethics consultation and resources to all UNM faculty and staff.
Why is such a program important?
To accomplish this, case-based, seminar-style education is essential to ensure that novices as well as indoctrinated individuals acquire adequate skills in reasoning and problem-solving for ethical issues that will maximize their abilities to deal with the many situations of ethical relevance researchers will encounter throughout their research careers. This is the preference among ethics educators nationally. In contrast, computer-based training with self-study modules are a distant second-class approach to training individuals in skills necessary to effectively identify and deal with complex and often subtle ethical issues. It is also recognized that in addition to the new faculty and graduate trainees, research ethics training is essential for experienced researchers and research staff. The REIP will identify computer-based training with self-study modules that will be available to all current faculty and research staff.
This training will include important content and go well beyond basic research ethics curriculum exemplified by the at times shallow Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) web-based resource and beyond basic research compliance training. This training will emphasize educating researchers more broadly and deeply on content in research ethics.
Ongoing expert research ethics consultation will be provided to all faculty and staff at UNM. This is an essential feature to creating a true culture of ethical sensitivity at UNM. UNM is quite fortunate already to have a number of faculty who are experts in research ethics and are amenable to contribute to a resource such as the REIP and EAR.
The REIP will work towards the result of providing ethics education to all biomedical, natural science, socio-behavioral science, education, and engineering graduate and post-doctoral students. Furthermore, programs will be available aimed at educating all newly hired science and engineering faculty at UNM with case-based seminars led by expert research ethicists. New faculty will, of course, be exempted from UNM research ethics training if they can document that they have received the equivalent training previously, such as during their graduate training or as a faculty member at another institution. However, existing UNM faculty may avail themselves of opportunities to take the research ethics coursework that is proposed herein, particularly from advanced seminar offerings.
Topics that are commonly considered by experts as essential to provide the basics of ethics for researchers in a training curriculum on responsible conduct of research (RCR) include:
1. Theory and history of research ethics (2 hours)
2. Mentoring graduate students, post-doctoral students, and junior researchers (2 hours)
3. Supervision of research team members and working with collaborators (2 hours)
4. Conflicts of Interest and conflicts of commitment (2 hours)
5. Scientific record keeping, data analysis, and data management (2 hours)
6. Authorship, peer review, and publication (2 hours)
7. Ethical issues in research design (2 hours)
8. Involvement of human participants in research (4 hours)
9. Ethical treatment of animal subjects in research (4 hours)
10. Ethical issues in research compliance with Federal, state & institutional requirements (4 hrs)
11. Ethical and scientific integrity issues in using and applying new technology (4 hours)
12. Recognizing and dealing with Scientific Misconduct (2 hours)
Basic coverage of each of these topics is considered to be the minimum needed to provide a sound ethics background for researchers. This minimal curriculum is estimated to require 32 hours of seminar instruction (numbers in parentheses above are estimated hours by topic). This translates into a 2 semester hour credit course that we believe can be conducted by meeting 2 hours per week for 16 weeks or 4 hours per week for 8 weeks. The most widely used text for teaching the responsible conduct of research is (this text would likely be adopted for use to teach any course in research ethics and integrity at UNM to standardize the curriculum):
Macrina, Francis L. (2005). Scientific Integrity: Text and Cases in Responsible Conduct of Research. New York: ASN Press.