Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative Sciences
OBJECTIVES Instilling the principles of ethical and responsible medical research is critical for educating the next generation of clinical researchers. We developed a responsible conduct of research (RCR) workshop and associated curriculum for undergraduate trainees in a quantitative clinical resear...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205241293515 |
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| author | Kay See Tan Mengmeng Du Jaya Satagopan Elena Elkin |
| author_facet | Kay See Tan Mengmeng Du Jaya Satagopan Elena Elkin |
| author_sort | Kay See Tan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | OBJECTIVES Instilling the principles of ethical and responsible medical research is critical for educating the next generation of clinical researchers. We developed a responsible conduct of research (RCR) workshop and associated curriculum for undergraduate trainees in a quantitative clinical research program. METHODS Topics in this 7-module RCR workshop are relevant to undergraduate trainees in quantitative fields, many of whom are learning about these concepts for the first time. These topics include: (1) research collaboration and mentoring, (2) human subjects and privacy, (3) rigor, reproducibility, and responsibility in data analysis, (4) data safety, security, and sharing, (5) responsible authorship, peer reviews, and conflicts of interest, (6) research misconduct and whistleblowing, and (7) social responsibility and contemporary ethical issues. The workshop adopts an active learning approach and is intended to encourage peer-to-peer learning through a critical review of case studies and contemporary media reports. Workshop materials and discussions are designed to address experiences relevant to undergraduate trainees. For example, for the discussion on human subject protection, trainees are asked to review their own university's policies for engaging students as research subjects. Student perceived knowledge and understanding of research ethics were obtained from pre- and post-workshop surveys, with responses ranging from 1 (low level of understanding) to 5 (high level of understanding). RESULTS Survey responses from 38 trainees across 4 years demonstrated marked increase in perceived knowledge and understanding of research ethics, from 64% in pre- to 96% in post-workshop responses with scores of 3 and up. Trainees noted the effectiveness of the active learning format of the workshop and relevance of the topics on their own research projects. CONCLUSION Intentional instruction is vital to help trainees discern between good and bad science in research. The presented RCR curriculum can be adapted by other programs designed for trainees engaged in medical research and education. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-36fbe873e1b24345ab9b137e6bbe8afc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2382-1205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development |
| spelling | doaj-art-36fbe873e1b24345ab9b137e6bbe8afc2025-01-16T03:03:32ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Medical Education and Curricular Development2382-12052025-01-011210.1177/23821205241293515Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative SciencesKay See Tan0Mengmeng Du1Jaya Satagopan2Elena Elkin3 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, , New York, NY, USA Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, , New York, NY, USA Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, , New Brunswick, NJ, USA Department of Health Policy and Management, , New York, NY, USAOBJECTIVES Instilling the principles of ethical and responsible medical research is critical for educating the next generation of clinical researchers. We developed a responsible conduct of research (RCR) workshop and associated curriculum for undergraduate trainees in a quantitative clinical research program. METHODS Topics in this 7-module RCR workshop are relevant to undergraduate trainees in quantitative fields, many of whom are learning about these concepts for the first time. These topics include: (1) research collaboration and mentoring, (2) human subjects and privacy, (3) rigor, reproducibility, and responsibility in data analysis, (4) data safety, security, and sharing, (5) responsible authorship, peer reviews, and conflicts of interest, (6) research misconduct and whistleblowing, and (7) social responsibility and contemporary ethical issues. The workshop adopts an active learning approach and is intended to encourage peer-to-peer learning through a critical review of case studies and contemporary media reports. Workshop materials and discussions are designed to address experiences relevant to undergraduate trainees. For example, for the discussion on human subject protection, trainees are asked to review their own university's policies for engaging students as research subjects. Student perceived knowledge and understanding of research ethics were obtained from pre- and post-workshop surveys, with responses ranging from 1 (low level of understanding) to 5 (high level of understanding). RESULTS Survey responses from 38 trainees across 4 years demonstrated marked increase in perceived knowledge and understanding of research ethics, from 64% in pre- to 96% in post-workshop responses with scores of 3 and up. Trainees noted the effectiveness of the active learning format of the workshop and relevance of the topics on their own research projects. CONCLUSION Intentional instruction is vital to help trainees discern between good and bad science in research. The presented RCR curriculum can be adapted by other programs designed for trainees engaged in medical research and education.https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205241293515 |
| spellingShingle | Kay See Tan Mengmeng Du Jaya Satagopan Elena Elkin Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative Sciences Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development |
| title | Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative Sciences |
| title_full | Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative Sciences |
| title_fullStr | Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative Sciences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative Sciences |
| title_short | Implementing a Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum for an Undergraduate Summer Clinical Research Program in Quantitative Sciences |
| title_sort | implementing a responsible conduct of research curriculum for an undergraduate summer clinical research program in quantitative sciences |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205241293515 |
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