Aligning Objectives and Assessment in Responsible Conduct of Research Instruction
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Authors:
Alison L. Antes1,*,
James M. DuBois1
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Published 15 December 2014
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aThe CITI training program alone states that over 6.4 million courses have been completed, with an average of 4.5 hours invested in each of their basic courses. See https://www.citiprogram.org/ (accessed on 5 September 2014). The U.S. Office of Research Integrity’s RCR Resource Development program awarded $1.5 million to various institutions to develop programs, and has spent over $1 million developing their own training programs, such as The Lab. See http://ori.hhs.gov/ (accessed on 5 September 2014).
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of General Medical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8005, St. Louis, MO 63110. Phone: 314-362-6006. Fax: 314-454-5113. E-mail: [email protected].
- ©2014 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.
Abstract:
Efforts to advance research integrity in light of concerns about misbehavior in research rely heavily on education in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). However, there is limited evidence for the effectiveness of RCR instruction as a remedy. Assessment is essential in RCR education if the research community wishes to expend the effort of instructors, students, and trainees wisely. This article presents key considerations that instructors and course directors must consider in aligning learning objectives with instructional methods and assessment measures, and it provides illustrative examples. Above all, in order for RCR educators to assess outcomes more effectively, they must align assessment to their learning objectives and attend to the validity of the measures used.
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Abstract:
Efforts to advance research integrity in light of concerns about misbehavior in research rely heavily on education in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). However, there is limited evidence for the effectiveness of RCR instruction as a remedy. Assessment is essential in RCR education if the research community wishes to expend the effort of instructors, students, and trainees wisely. This article presents key considerations that instructors and course directors must consider in aligning learning objectives with instructional methods and assessment measures, and it provides illustrative examples. Above all, in order for RCR educators to assess outcomes more effectively, they must align assessment to their learning objectives and attend to the validity of the measures used.

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Author and Article Information
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Published 15 December 2014
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aThe CITI training program alone states that over 6.4 million courses have been completed, with an average of 4.5 hours invested in each of their basic courses. See https://www.citiprogram.org/ (accessed on 5 September 2014). The U.S. Office of Research Integrity’s RCR Resource Development program awarded $1.5 million to various institutions to develop programs, and has spent over $1 million developing their own training programs, such as The Lab. See http://ori.hhs.gov/ (accessed on 5 September 2014).
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of General Medical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8005, St. Louis, MO 63110. Phone: 314-362-6006. Fax: 314-454-5113. E-mail: [email protected].
- ©2014 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.