Good morning:
The Office of Research Integrity is pleased to announce that Epigeum: Research Integrity Certification and Assessment (RICA) program is now LIVEand we are ready for the UNCG pilot testing phase. To help motivate researchers at UNCG for spending time giving us feedback on RICA, we will enter them all into a prize draw to win an iPad mini.
Please consider forwarding this email to any faculty/staff/students who you think may be interested in participating. Course enrollment instructions are attached.
There is widespread agreement that researchers in all fields should be introduced to responsible research practices as part of their training. Moreover, some funders require universities to document that their students and researchers have received appropriate training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR).
After considering different options, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro has decided to organize our RCR training in Epigeum.
RICA provides two options for training, as outlined in the table below.
| RICA options | ||
| Option 1For students and new faculty | Research Integrity | · An online course that introduces all the key areas of the responsible conduct of research· Provides an opportunity to engage with the material in depth and create portfolio to help you develop further |
| Option 2For experienced researchers and faculty | Research Integrity Self-Assessment | · A self-assessment exercise consisting of approximately 50 multiple choice questions, plus explanations/feedback· Allows experienced researchers to evaluate and document their understanding of major issues, regulations and responsibilities |
Successful completion of the final test at the end of either of the options above leads to the issue of a certificate that not only satisfies the University’s training requirement, but also can be added to your résumé. In order to receive your certificate you will need to score at least 82%; certification with Distinction requires a score of 90%or higher.
Climate assessment
RICA also provides an opportunity for you to communicate your thoughts on the University’s commitment to promoting integrity in research and your confidence in your own understanding of best practices. Throughout Research Integrity (Option 1) and at the end of the Research Integrity Self-Assessment (Option 2), you will be asked to respond to a number of questions about the research climate here at University of North Carolina at Greensboro along with other factors that could influence your research and your behavior.
Epigeum collects this data and provides anonymized summaries to the University so that we can assess the effectiveness of our provision and of the RICA courses. Your personal responses are confidential and will not be reported to the University or to anyone else.
The following information should help with this process:
- How many? We would like at least 30 individuals at UNCG to pilot RICA.
- Who? They should mostly be postgraduate students and early career researchers.
- How long? It will probably take around six hours to work through RICA and give us feedback using the questionnaire at the end.
- Deadline: We will need to receive all feedback by Monday 28 July 2014.
Steps to Accessing the Epigeum Courses:
- First, log in to your blackboard account on https://blackboard.uncg.edu/webapps/portal/framset.jsp
- After logging in, click on “Organizations” in the menu at the top
- Select Epigeum: Research Integrity Certification and Assessment (RICA) from the“My organizations” list on the right
- The RICA course is available in 5 faculty versions, each tailored to a different set of fields. The recommended selection is Social and Behavioral Sciences module.
- The system will also be looking for feedback on this new version and may ask for information regarding the system at the end of the module.
We will be providing further information on our website regarding access to this program.
EPIGEUM Enrollment Instructions
What next?
If you encounter any difficulties accessing the Epigeum RICA system in Blackboard Learn, please contact 6-TECH via email at6tech@uncg.edu or phone at (336) 256-8324.
If you have questions or concerns, contact the Office of Research Integrity at 336-256-1482 or ori@uncg.edu
**Please note, the Epigeum: Research Integrity Certification and Assessment (RICA) certificate cannot be used in place of CITI human subject’s research training when submitting a human subject’s research application to the IRB. The Epigeum RICA training meets the specific requirements of responsible conduct of research training as mandated by NIH and NSF, as well as other funding agencies. However, it does not meet the requirements for human subject’s research training as required to meet the federalwide assurance and for submission to the UNCG IRB.
Thank you!