Rigor and Reproducibility

 

Rutgers SGS Rigor and Reproducibility Training – The Biomedical Sciences graduate programs in New Brunswick/Piscataway are now requiring all incoming PhD students (starting Fall 2017) to take one of 3 biostatistics courses to ensure Rigor and Reproducibility training for all biomedical PhD students.

Rutgers SGS Responsible Conduct of Research Training – The SGS offers Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training that is compliant with NIH requirements. The training is required for all biomedical PhD students and is also available to postdoctoral fellows and faculty.

Rutgers Responsible Conduct of Research Toolkit – The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) is defined as the practice of scientific investigation with integrity. It involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research.

NIH Rigor and Reproducibility Policy & Learning Page – Two of the cornerstones of science advancement are rigor in designing and performing scientific research and the ability to reproduce biomedical research findings.

US Department of Public Health Office of Research Integrity – Resources available at the US Dept of Public Health for addressing Rigor and Reproducibility requirements.

Online and on-site human subjects research resources at Rutgers can be found here which can augment or replace didactic coursework if better suited, e.g. short-term training: e.g. online CITI basic training modules and those listed under “Educational Learning Opportunities”: https://research.rutgers.edu/researcher-support/research-compliance/human-research-protection-program/education-resources.

Animal care research training and development resources at Rutgers can be found here: https://research.rutgers.edu/animal-care/training-development.

Topical literature:

Enhancing Scientific Reproducibility in Biomedical Research Through Transparent Reporting

Sharing knowledge is what drives scientific progress — each new advance or innovation in biomedical research builds on previous observations. However, for experimental findings to be broadly accepted as credible by the scientific community, they must be verified by other researchers. An essential step is for researchers to report their findings in a manner that is understandable to others in the scientific community and provide sufficient information for others to validate the original results and build on them. In recent years, concern has been growing over a number of studies that have failed to replicate previous results and evidence from larger meta-analyses, which have pointed to the lack of reproducibility in biomedical research. On September 25 and 26, 2019, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a public workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss the current state of transparency in the reporting of preclinical biomedical research and to explore opportunities for harmonizing reporting guidelines across journals and funding agencies. Convened jointly by the Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation; the Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders; the National Cancer Policy Forum; and the Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health, the workshop primarily focused on transparent reporting in preclinical research, but also considered lessons learned and best practices from clinical research reporting. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.