Research Integrity

POLICY:

Research integrity is both necessary and essential to maintaining the public trust and support of research, as well as developing and sustaining a reliable record of the research. Research integrity is essential to prevent research misconduct.

Researchers are expected to conduct and to disseminate their research in accord with the principles of research integrity. Toward that end, faculty and student researchers and postdoctoral fellows, as well as research staff, must be certified in the fundamentals of research practice.

PROCEDURE:

The University of Pittsburgh draws on research educational resources provided by the Collaborative Institutional Training Institute, as well as by the University of Pittsburgh Internet-based Studies in Education & Research. In order to complete the modules, faculty, students, post-doctoral fellows and research staff must have a University e-mail address and Internet access.

All faculty, students, post-doctoral fellows and staff engaged in research need to complete all appropriate online modules pertaining to their research as outlined by The Office of Research Protections (ORP). Faculty, students, post-doctoral fellows and research staff must successfully complete the required research training modules before engaging in any research activities, including submissions to the IRB and of grant applications.

Once the modules are successfully completed, faculty, students, post-doctoral fellows and staff engaged in research will be issued a certificate, a permanent record of their completion of the module indicating that they are certified on that topic.

Certificates of research integrity must be submitted to granting agencies as required.