Ethics and Safety
All research and creative work has ethical components—from data collection and acknowledgement of source material to working appropriately with participants and other researchers. Depending on your project you may need to get an approval or certification to perform specific aspects of the research.
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Projects involving living human subjects may need to be reviewed by the IRB. Check go/irb to see what kinds of research require IRB consultation or review. There are different levels of review, so it’s important to understand what, if anything, your project requires before applying for undergraduate research or other funding. Contact the IRB with questions!
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
Middlebury has an institutional subscription for the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program’s online training modules related to research conduct in multiple disciplines. The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) module provides a general overview. We recommend that any student conducting independent research, working as a research assistant or with a grant-funded project complete RCR training at a minimum. All students are welcome to complete any of the online training and receive a certificate of completion.
Students working, volunteering, or receiving credit on a project supported by an NSF grant are required to complete CITI RCR training.
To access the training, register and create a username and password. The training consists of 10 modules that take about 20 minutes each. There is a quiz at the end of each module; you must score 80% or higher to pass. You can complete the training at your own pace and CITI will save your progress. Try not to complete the training in one sitting. You will get more out of it if you only do a few modules at once. Take the time to watch the videos and thoroughly read the text, keeping in mind your source materials as well as your own research.
Lab Training and Safety
Students conducting research in a lab environment (laboratories at Middlebury include scientific labs, field research locations, and fine art studios, as well as areas that support labs such as prep rooms and chemical storage areas) may need lab safety training. See Safety in Laboratories for specific information about training and additional resources.