Reported goals for responsible conduct of research courses

In order to identify the major goals of responsible conduct of research (RCR) education, a survey was done with recipients of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Grants awarded in 2000. In the 50 interviews with instructors involved in these RCR programs, over fifty different goals volunteered, and about 25% of these instructors were not actually RCR instructors and around 22% did not know that RCR training was required for all NIH Trainees. Finally, while around 80% reported that RCR instruction was required for individuals other than NIH Trainees, only one of the interviewees reported that this kind of training was required for all researchers at their institution. The authors conclude that a lack of consensus exists about the goals of RCR education, and that RCR education is far from being viewed as central to research.