Research Ethics

Integrity in research conduct is crucial to maintaining the public's trust in research. Researchers in all fields rely on others to limit or acknowledge bias and to honestly and accurately report their findings. Although the burden for ensuring the integrity of the research record lies predominantly with the researchers themselves, everyone involved in the research process whether they are collaborators, students, technicians, administrators, or volunteers, has a role to play in supporting the responsible conduct of research and reporting concerns of research misconduct.

UAF offers a "Responsible Conduct of Research" workshop twice yearly. This training is required for some types of grants and research personnel, but is open to any UAF faculty, student, post-doc, or staff. There are also several professional guidance documents available to help research personnel navigate ethical issues.

The National Institutes of Health posted an essay by Dr. David Resnick on the importance of ethics in research, "What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?"
The National Academy of Sciences provides a free publication, "On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research 3rd Edition".
And relevant to Alaska in particular, the National Science Foundation has published the "Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic" which emphasizes not only principles of ethical research, but encourages respect for all individuals, cultures, and the environment. Projects on Indigenous homelands or involving Indigenous Peoples should be coordinated with Indigenous leadership and should follow all applicable regulations and local research guidelines.

UAF Policy - Responsible Conduct of Research Training

The UAF Chancellor signed the Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) Training Policy (Policy #10.07.001) on June 8, 2010. The Office of Research Integrity is responsible for developing operating procedures, training resources, and tracking compliance with the requirements of this policy and to address NSF and NIH policies. NSF and NIH have their own independent RCR policies that apply to different grants and/or research personnel. Please visit their web sites for more information:

RCR training is designed to promote the integrity of the university’s research by addressing core issues for both responsible conduct of research and maintaining the integrity of the research record. Everyone engaged in research activities, irrespective of discipline, is expected to have a reasonable understanding of these topics. This includes administrators and research support staff as well as faculty, post-docs, students, and technicians. The purpose of this course is to engage researchers and research trainees in reading about, considering, and discussing the responsible conduct of science. The material is designed to initiate discussions on RCR topics between graduate students and their advisers, between research collaborators, and within research groups.

Workshops

Fairbanks (Main Campus)

UAF offers in-person workshop training twice yearly on the UAF campus. For more information about upcoming workshops contact the UAF Office of Research Integrity (474-7800) or visit the News section on our main page for announcements on upcoming workshop dates and times.

Other Locations

Outlying campuses can participate in real-time web-conference training offered as needed. For more information about upcoming workshops contact the UAF Office of Research Integrity (474-7800).

CITI Course

This course is available for any UAF student, faculty, or researchers wishing to complete it. It is not a generally required course unless you are specifically instructed to do so and it does not fulfill the NIH and NSF requirements for contact hours. For more information contact ORI (474-7800).