For more than 20 years, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has been developing and compiling educational resources for research administrators, integrity officers, and researchers that have defined what has come to be called the responsible conduct of research (RCR). That body of knowledge has been organized into nine core areas (http://ori.hhs.gov/education/) posited in the late 1980s by the National Institutes of Health and developed further by the National Academies.

There is growing interest in updating and expanding this RCR curriculum and ORI continually is committed to creating, compiling, and distributing educational resources that help institutions foster a positive environment for exceptional research. As RCR begins its third decade, perhaps now is a time to consider enhancing the RCR curriculum by asking researchers what educational resources would better enable them to advance their research responsibly as well as advance their professional development. The everyday burdens on researchers seems to be escalating exponentially over time, so perhaps the updated and expanded RCR curriculum should include the knowledge, abilities, and skills that will lessen those burdens or will provide skills to manage them more effectively.

To initiate discussion, I propose confirming with researchers their need for developing these research skills:
1) Leadership and management skills because being able to interact well with people and manage resources are necessary for the very practical business of running a successful research program
2) Daily decision making skills informed by facts and a deep understanding of the ethics, values, and culture of research because having those skills helps foster the public trust in research
3) Critical thinking skills because they enable a healthy skepticism, stimulate discussion, and ultimately strengthen research design and interpretation of research results
4) Good research practices because they impact the quality of research
5) Innovation, ingenuity, creativity, and visionary skills, which can be strengthened through practice, because they determine a direction toward which scientific progress is made

Providing students and scholars with practice developing skills, such as those proposed above, during their formative education will avoid their having to learn them through trial-and-error and will put them quickly on the road to becoming successful and responsible researchers. What is your vision for RCR2020? Submit your thoughts here.

Dr. John Galland
Director, Division of Education & Integrity (DEI)
Office of Research Integrity (ORI)
Office of Public Health and Sciences (OPHS)
Office of the Secretary of Health & Human Services (OS)
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)