Reported goals for knowledge to be learned in responsible conduct of research courses

EDUCATION IN RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH (RCR) has been a required part of training for students on U. S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grants for over 15 years. However, there is little evidence of commonly accepted goals for RCR instruction, making it difficult to assess effectiveness. As part of a larger study examining RCR instructors' goals for RCR education, this report focuses on those reported goals categorized as knowledge. To identify RCR instructors, e-mail requests were sent to the 116 recipients of NIH training grants awarded in 2000. Of 67 verified RCR instructors, 50 (75% response rate) from 37 different institutions were successfully interviewed. Despite a shared sense of the basics to be taught in RCR courses, these instructors were diverse in their views and understanding of goals for RCR education. This diversity suggests a challenge to be overcome not only for improving the effectiveness of RCR education, but also for attempts to assess that effectiveness.