The term "responsible conduct of research" (RCR) refers to a set of ethical guidelines for researchers to follow while designing, carrying out, and reporting research projects. Honesty, precision, efficiency, and impartiality are at the core of the RCR principles. In order to fulfill commitments and promises, honest researchers must present facts honestly. Researchers who are accurate will not make mistakes and will correctly summarize their results. Researchers who are effective are mindful of saving money and reducing waste. Researchers who are unbiased take precautions to prevent prejudice. RCR often centers on education and training initiatives to create and sustain a pool of ethical researchers.
Any research that obtains information through any sort of interaction with an individual other than the investigator is considered human subject research. The interaction could include questionnaires, surveys, focus groups, observation, etc. For more inforamtion, see the next section on Human Subject Research.
Human subject research includes any research involving people other than the investigators themselves. This could include things like questionnaires, surveys, or focus groups. If you plan to work with human subjects, you will need approval or a waiver from Illinois Tech's Institutional Review Board (IRB). For more information see the IRB web page:
Research involving animals, DNA, or other biological materials also requires approval. For more information, follow the links below:
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