About the Office of Research Responsibility

The Office of Research Responsibility leads in fostering responsibility in the conduct of university research and scholarship, in compliance with federal, state, and university regulations and guidelines. The focus of the ORR is to be a resource for campus faculty, students, and staff in their research-related activities through training and technical assistance. Associate Vice Chancellor for Research directs the ORR, serves as the Institutional Official, and reports to the Vice Chancellor for Research.

Core Areas:
1. Data acquisition, Management, Sharing, and Ownership
Responsible practices for acquiring and maintaining research data. Proper methods for record keeping and electronic data collection and storage in scientific research. Includes defining what constitutes data; keeping data notebooks or electronic files; data privacy and confidentiality; data selection, retention, sharing, ownership, and analysis; data as legal documents and intellectual property, including copyright laws.

2. Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship
The purpose and importance of scientific publication, and the responsibilities of the authors. Includes topics such as collaborative work and assigning appropriate credit, acknowledgments, appropriate citations, repetitive publications, fragmentary publication, corrections and retractions, application of discipline-based conventions for deciding upon authors, author responsibilities.

3. Mentor/Trainee Relationships
In collaboration with the Office of Graduate Studies, the mutual responsibilities of mentors and trainees in all levels of research. Includes the role of a mentor, responsibilities of a mentor and a trainee, conflicts between mentor and trainee, collaboration and competition, selection of a mentor, and misusing the mentor/trainee relationship.

4. Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Research and Scholarship
Responsible collaborations and issues that may arise from such endeavors. Includes topics such as setting ground rules early in the collaboration, avoiding authorship disputes, effective communication across disciplines, and the sharing of materials and information with internal and external collaborators.

5. Protections of Human Participants in Research
Issues pertinent to conducting research involving human participants. Includes topics such as the definition of human participants research, ethical principles for conducting human participants research, informed consent, confidentiality and privacy of data and patient records, risks and benefits, preparation of a research protocol, institutional review boards, adherence to study protocol, and special protections for targeted populations.

6. Research Involving Non-human Animals
Issues pertinent to the responsible conduct of research involving non-human animals. Includes topics such as definition of research, ethical principles for conducting research with non-human animals, pertinent Federal regulations and guidelines, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and treatment/care.

7. Research Misconduct
The meaning of research misconduct and the regulations, policies, and guidelines that govern research misconduct in PHS-funded institutions. Includes topics such as fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism; error vs. intentional misconduct; institutional misconduct policies; identifying misconduct; procedures for reporting misconduct; protection of whistleblowers; and outcomes of investigations, including institutional and federal actions.

8. Conflict of Interest and Commitment
The definition and types of research conflicts of interest and commitment by faculty, staff, students, and by the institution, and how to handle these research-related issues. Includes topics such as conflicts associated with collaborators, publication, financial conflicts, effort, obligations to other constituencies, and other types of conflicts.

9. Research Safety
In collaboration with Environmental Health and Safety, safey issues related to research, including radiation safety, safe laboratory procedures, biological safety, and toxic waste handling.