Research Mentoring

Mentor and trainee responsibilities is one of the nine core areas of RCR instruction that deals with research integrity issues that investigators should be aware of in order to conduct research responsibly. The purpose of this online module is to give a brief introduction to integrity issues related to mentor/trainee responsibilities and increase researchers' awareness of such issues. The module is intended for self-paced learning especially by those in the early stages of their research careers and become aware of mentor and trainee responsibilities that can be encountered when seeking to ensure the quality of research.

This module is organized under the eight topic areas listed below. Click on the ' Topics' option on the top navigation bar to access each topic in this module.

• Overview of Mentor and Trainee Responsibilities
• Need for Mentoring 
• Expectations, Goals, Objectives
• Establishing the Relationship
• Working Together
• Identifying Challenges
• Lessons Learned
• Transition to Independent Researcher

The module may take anywhere between three to five hours to go through the content and the activities fully, depending on one's background, web navigation skills, and the type of access to the web. Some activities may require downloading freely available plug-ins or players.

The module content was compiled from existing literature and through interviews with faculty researchers at Northern Illinois University . Along with the content, quizzes, games, case simulations and opportunities for reflection have been included to engage users in the module. But the content and the activities included in the module are by no means comprehensive or conclusive, and are meant only to provide a basic overview of mentor and trainee related issues which may impact the quality of research. The type and number of activities included in each topic may vary depending on the scope of the topic.