Research & Scholarship Integrity Program
All scholars and researchers face ethical issues over the course of their professional practices. Integral to the formation of your professional identity is an awareness and understanding of what responsible research and scholarship entails.
The Research and Scholarship Integrity program familiarizes students and postdoctoral fellows with good research and scholarship practices and with some of the ethical issues they may encounter during their professional careers. BC’s program is designed to meet the NIH and NSF requirements for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research.
Contact
Erin Sibley, Ph.D.
Director, Office for Research Protections
Office of the Vice Provost for Research
Phone
617-552-1758
Email
erin.sibley@bc.edu
Address
Waul House 208
270 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Ph.D. students and postdocs across the university must complete 8 hours of RSI programming (equivalent to four seminars) over their first two years at Boston College. Please note that as of Fall 2023, the following departments have opted out of the RSI program and will run their own research ethics programs: Nursing, Sociology, Philosophy, History, English, Theology, and Political Science. If you are a PhD student or postdoc in one of these programs, please contact your Chair for more information.
Program Structure
All components of the program must be completed within your first two years at BC. Under the new format, doctoral students and postdocs must complete eight hours of RSI sessions. Each RSI session is two hours long, and we will offer four per semester.
This means that in your first two years at BC, you will need to take four 2-hour sessions out of the sixteen that are offered.
Please note that during the 2024-25 school year, some sessions will be held in person, and some sessions will be held remotely, to accommodate as many participants as possible.
Schedule 2024-2025
Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Gasson 100
An Overview of Research Administration:
Export Controls, Conflict of Interest, Intellectual Property, and Sponsored Programs
Tuesday, February 11, 2025, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
ON ZOOM
Part 1:
- Community Engaged Scholarship and the Scientist's Role in Society (Cal Halvorsen, Washington University)
Part 2:
- Tour of the new InfoEd IRB module (Erin Sibley)
Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
ON ZOOM
A Look at Research Considerations across Contexts:
Part 1:
- Clinical Perspective (Aimee Milliiken, CSON)
Part 2:
- Research with Prisoners (Patrick Conway, BC Prison Education Program)
Friday, April 11, 2025, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
ON ZOOM
Part 1:
- Relationships with Mentors (Tracy Costello, University of South Florida)
Part 2:
- Peer Review (Tracy Costello, University of South Florida)
Data Acquisition & Management, Copyright, Teaching, & Ethics
Speakers:
- Matt Gregas (Research Services Director)
- Elliot Hibbler (Scholarly Communication Librarian)
- Kim Humphrey (Assistant Director Equitable Teaching & Learning)
- Francesca Minonne (Assistant Director Graduate Student Programs)
Date:
Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 12:00pm-2:00pm
Where:
Corcoran Commons Heights Room
Lunch will be provided!
Rigor & Reproducibility
Speakers:
- Tracy Costello, Ph.D. (Director, Postdoctoral Affairs and Graduate Student Development, University of South Flordia)
Date:
Thursday, October 10, 2024, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Where:
On Zoom
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Research
Speakers:
- John Basl (Northeastern University)
Date:
Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 12:00pm-2:00pm
Where:
Corcoran Commons Heights Room
Lunch will be provided!
Academic Misconduct, Authorship Issues
Speakers:
- Gretchen Brodnicki, MSW (Administrative Dean for Arts & Humanities at Harvard University)
- Erin Sibley, Ph.D. (Director for Research Protections)
- Dani Melendez, MSW (Assistant Director of Research Integrity)
Date:
Monday, December 2, 2024, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Where:
On Zoom
FAQ
To register for an RSI event, please make sure you are logged in to your BC e-mail in the same browser you are using to register. If you are using Chrome as your browser, please make sure you are signed out of all other non-BC gmail accounts.
The RSI program must be completed within the first two years of your studies or employment at BC.
No, it does not. The components of the RSI program can be completed in any order.
Please contact Stephanie Querzoli (querzoli@bc.edu) about any dietary restrictions. Please inform her of the RSI events you plan to attend.
Please contact Erin Sibley (erin.sibley@bc.edu) for an update of your progress in the RSI program. Over the summer, we will be posting a spreadsheet so that each participant can check their progress.
Yes, these are available in the event archive.