HHs proposes to revise phs policY on research misconduct

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Office of Research Integrity (ORI) proposes to revise the Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct. These are the first proposed revisions to the regulations since they were released in 2005. The Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) seeks comments from individuals, institutional officials, organizations, institutions, research funding agencies, and other members of the public on the proposed revisions and how to improve the clarity of substantive and non-substantive. The deadline for comment is December 5, 2023. 

HHS requests that all comments be submitted electronically to https://www.regulations.gov. In commenting, please refer to the Regulatory Information Number (RIN) [0937–AA12].

Journal Editors & Federal agencies on ai

See also: ChatGPT and Other AI Tools: Implications for Teaching and Learning, from the OSU Center for Teaching and Learning

NSF to require RCR training for faculty

NSF is expanding RCR training requirements to faculty and other senior personnel and will require that the training address "mentor training and mentorship". These new requirements apply to proposals submitted on or after July 31, 2023. NSF encourages researchers to explore training resources available through the Online Ethics Center. Researchers can also complete RCR training through CITI. More information is available in the NSF PAPPG, Chapter IX.B.1. 

NIH, AHRQ, HRSA update RCR training requirements

NIH, AHRQ, and HRSA updated their existing policy and guidance for RCR instruction to (1) permit interactive video conferences for some, but not all, "in-person" training, (2) encourage ongoing, discipline-specific training, (3) add the bolded elements below to the traditional RCR training topics: 

  • conflict of interest – personal, professional, and financial – and conflict of commitment, in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
  • policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
  • mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
  • safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
  • collaborative research, including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
  • peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
  • data acquisition and analysis; laboratory tools (e.g., tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic laboratory notebooks
  • secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
  • research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
  • responsible authorship and publication
  • the scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research

Changes should be incorporated into plans for RCR instruction for the 2022-2023 academic year and in new and renewal applications for research training, career development, research education and dissertation research grants beginning with the September 25, 2022 due dates. More information is available in the FY 2022 Updated Guidance: Requirement for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research, Notice Number: NOT-OD-22-055