Research Integrity


The Spartan Code of Honor Academic Pledge:

“A​s a Spartan, I will strive to uphold values of the highest ethical standard. I will practice honesty in my work, foster honesty in my peers, and take pride in knowing that honor in ownership is worth more than grades. I will carry these values beyond my time as a student at Michigan State University, continuing the endeavor to build personal integrity in all that I do..”

Portions retrieved 5/18/2021 from: “Academic Integrity at Michigan State University”


The Graduate School has compiled many resources for discussion-based completion of the RECR requirements. Each department or college has developed a detailed RECR plan including when and how to satisfy the discussion-based training hours. Please review this plan (which can be found in your graduate handbook) and verify with your Graduate Program Director.

Research Integrity Requirements

Integrity is foundational to our research, scholarship, creative work, and core identity as MSU Spartans. It is not only required by rules (including federal, state, research sponsors, and MSU’s research and training policies), integrity is essential for our research to have legitimacy and impact. Research integrity is so important to our development as scholars and creators that the Graduate School has developed minimum education requirements for all graduate students regarding the Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR for short). RECR training is also a federal requirement for all graduate students and completion of the training must be tracked. The Graduate School will assign service indicators (holds) on students’ records if they have not completed their annual RECR requirements.

Graduate Certificate-only students do not need to complete RECR education.

On-line graduate degree-seeking students must complete the RECR education requirements.

At present, several funding agencies require RECR education for graduate students financially support by their grants (NSF, NIH, and USDA-NIFA) and that this education be properly documented. There are differences in the required modes of delivery, topical content and frequency of the education or training, depending on the agency. The topics discussed in the education program should include research misconduct, research ethics, mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships, conflicts of interest (personal, professional, financial), authorship and plagiarism, data management and record keeping, collaborative research, safe research environments, human subjects and animal use, laboratory safety, and peer review and confidentiality. The RECR education program required of all graduate students at MSU satisfies federal requirements.

The Graduate School’s RECR education program consists of two parts (a) basic or foundational education (Years One and Two, for all Master's and Ph.D. students), and (b) annual refresher education (Years three and beyond, for Ph.D. students only). Details are provided below.

Graduate students should work closely with their department regarding RECR education requirements before seeking assistance from the Graduate School.


RECR Basic Education Program Requirements


Master’s plan B (including online) and grad professional (including medical students)

CITI Modules Year 1

  • Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research
  • Authorship
  • Plagiarism
  • Research Misconduct

6 hours discussion-based education (complete before graduation)


Master’s Plan A students
 

CITI Modules Year 1

  • Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research
  • Authorship
  • Plagiarism
  • Research Misconduct

6 hours discussion-based education (complete before graduation)

CITI Modules Year 2

Complete 3 of 6 possible RECR Basic modules:

  • Collaborative Research
  • Conflicts of Interest
  • Data Management
  • Mentoring
  • Peer Review
  • Financial Responsibility


Doctoral students
 

CITI Modules Year 1

  • Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research
  • Authorship
  • Plagiarism
  • Research Misconduct

6 hours discussion-based education(complete before finishing comprehensive examination and entering candidacy status, doctoral students starting in Fall 2020 or later)

CITI Modules Year 2

Complete 3 of 6 possible RECR Basic modules:

  • Collaborative Research
  • Conflicts of Interest
  • Data Management
  • Mentoring
  • Peer Review
  • Financial Responsibility

Year 3 forward

3 hours of annual refresher education

  • CITI modules not previously taken to fulfill Year 1 or 2 or another refresher year’s requirements
  • Department/College Workshops, brown-bag luncheons, group discussions that cover RECR related topics
  • Graduate School RECR workshops not previously taken
  • One-on-one discussions between the student and their advisor
  • Other RECR related courses (non-CITI modules, Academic courses, etc.)

The basic education program consists of the following:

  1. Four (4) specified online CITI(Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) training modules. (To be completed by the end of the student’s first year).
  2. A minimum of 6 hours of face-to-face, discussion-based education. (To be completed by the time of graduation for master’s students and prior to completing the comprehensive examination and entering candidate status for doctoral students). Each department or college has developed a RECR plan including when and how to satisfy the discussion-based education hours. Please review this plan (found in your graduate handbook) and verify with your Graduate Program Director. Options may include:
    1. Completing workshops offered by The Graduate School (most count for 1.5 hours each),
    2. Completing workshops offered by your academic unit,
    3. Completing approved coursework covering RECR relevant content (see topical content list) and/or,
    4. Participating in group discussions with an advisor or facilitator. In such cases, the individual leading the discussion must complete and submit a spreadsheet for inclusion into Ability (and transfer to the Track RCR page in SIS). The directions for this can be found here, Academic Unit Administrator Access and Responsibilities (sharepoint.com).

    For students entering graduate school in FS2022 or later, one-on-one discussions with a faculty mentor or advisor can NO LONGER be used to fulfill the 6 hours of discussion-based education.

  3. Three (3) additional on-line CITI modules for Master’s Plan A and Doctoral students. These 3 additional CITI modules can be chosen from the supplemental modules listed in CITI. This list will not be visible on a student’s CITI page until the first four required modules have been completed. (To be completed by the end of the student's second year). These must be completed in Year Two, not before,  in order to count toward the basic education requirements.

In addition to the basic education requirements, all doctoral and graduate professional students must complete 3 hours per year of annual refresher education. This requirement can be met in the following ways:

  1. Completing additional CITI modules not previously used to fulfill the basic education requirements. These would be from the supplemental modules listed in CITI. Each module counts as 45 min,
  2. Completing additional virtual workshops from the Graduate School not previously used to fulfill the basic education requirements,
  3. Participating in designated RECR activities in an academic unit,
  4. Holding one-on-one or group discussions with one’s advisor, and/or
  5. Other activities across campus that cover key RECR topics (e.g., mentoring workshops)

Reach out to gradsis@grd.msu.edu to check if courses or events you would like to participate in count towards your RECR education requirements.

The Graduate School has compiled many resources for discussion-based completion of the RECR requirements. Each department or college has developed a detailed RECR plan including when and how to satisfy the discussion-based training hours. Please review this plan (found in your graduate handbook) and verify with your Graduate Program Director.

The current RECR education requirements took effect January 1, 2017. All graduate and graduate professional students enrolling for the first time in SP 2017, or after, will follow the current RECR education program with the following clarification: The requirement that doctoral students must complete their 6 hours of discussion-based education before the comprehensive examination applies to doctoral students starting in Fall 2020 or later. Doctoral students who started between SP 2017 and SU 2020 must complete their 6 hours of discussion-based training before graduation. Departments and programs may have more specific requirements to meet the discussion-based and annual refresher education requirements. Students who entered the graduate school prior to January 1, 2017, have the option of following their academic unit’s previous plan or the new education requirements. Students should consult with their departments about which option works best for their program of study.

Documenting Completion of Requirements

The university’s training tracking system, Ability, will automatically record completion of all CITI modules and Graduate School workshops. Students should work with their graduate program to document unit-led RECR education. Students must document discussion hours with their advisor by submitting them in the Campus Solutions system. See instructions for all of the above on the MSU Office of Research Regulatory Support’s RECR website.

CITI Instructions

To complete the basic and supplemental CITI modules, follow these steps:

  1. Log-in to CITI using ONLY your MSU NetID and password once you are an active gradute student.
    1. Click on the “CITI (actual training modules)” button below, or
    2. Go directly to the CITI Program website and click “log-in through my institution.”
  2. (For first-time MSU CITI users) Follow the 'Get Started' instructions from MSU’s Office of Research Regulatory Support (ORRS).
  3. Under “Courses Ready to Begin”, click “Start” next to “MSU Graduate School RCR Requirements.”
  4. Complete the 4 basic modules by the end of your first year.
  5. For Master’s plan A and doctoral students, complete 3 modules from the “Supplemental Modules” also listed on this page. (Master’s: due before graduation; Doctoral: due before completing comprehensive exams and advancing to candidacy).

NEW RECR Job Aid PDF: Job Aid for Staff | Job Aid for Students

MSU Research Integrity Office information available about safeguarding the integrity of research and creative activities across the university. The site also contains procedures for seeking guidance on issues and for reporting potential misconduct or questionable research practices.

MSU Office of Research Regulatory Support Responsible Conduct of Research page describing MSU’s RECR training requirements for all investigators, links to funding agency RECR requirements, and links for documenting instructor-led and discussion-based training for submission to Ability

RCR memo - 8/29/16 (PDF)

MSU Responsible Conduct of Research Plans template 2016 (PDF)

MSU Policy on NSF Funded Research 2009 (PDF)

THE LAB video

The long awaited release of "The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct" is now available for viewing on the ORI web site. The video simulation allows users to assume the role of a graduate student, post-doc, research administrator, or PI and make decisions that affect the integrity of research.