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RCR Web-based Training: Getting Started

The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program provides responsible conduct of research (RCR) education to the research community. CITI’s RCR Web-based training consists of a series of training modules. These modules are only an introduction to complex subjects. Students and postdoctoral researchers are also encouraged to have continued discussion on these topics with mentors and colleagues.

The online RCR course takes an average of 2 – 3 hours to complete and includes a quiz for each module. You can complete the course in multiple sessions. Your progress will be saved and you can return to the same place in the course. To successfully complete the course, you must achieve an average score of at least 80% on all quizzes associated with the course’s module requirements.

The RCR course for undergraduate students consists of 9 modules:

  1. Introduction to RCR
  2. Authorship
  3. Collaborative Research
  4. Conflicts of Interest
  5. Data Management
  6. Mentoring
  7. Peer Review
  8. Research Misconduct
  9. Plagiarism

The RCR course for graduate students and postdocs consists of 10 modules:

  1. Introduction to RCR
  2. Authorship
  3. Collaborative Research
  4. Conflicts of Interest
  5. Data Management
  6. Mentoring
  7. Peer Review
  8. Research Misconduct
  9. Plagiarism
  10. Research Involving Human Subjects

Note: If your research involves human participants, animals or particular types of hazardous substances/equipment, you will be required to complete further ethics and safety training.

How to Register for RCR Web-based Training

Please note: You must always click “LOG IN THROUGH MY INSTITUTION” and select Northwestern University each time you login to CITI, in order to access the courses for Northwestern.

  1. Go to the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program website at www.citiprogram.org.
  2. On the home page, click the blue Log In button.
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  3. On the login page, select LOG IN THROUGH MY INSTITUTION. This is essential, so that your Northwestern NetID will link to your CITI account.
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  1. A list of institutions will appear. Select Northwestern University.
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  1. Northwestern’s single sign-on (SSO) screen, Online Passport, will appear. Enter your Northwestern NetID and password, then click the Log In button.
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  1. If you have not yet created an account in CITI affiliated with Northwestern, then you must respond whether or not you have an existing CITI Program account in order to proceed.
    • If you do not have an existing CITI Program account, select “I don’t have a CITI Program account and I need to create one.”
    • If you have an existing CITI Program account with any institution other than Northwestern, select “I already have a CITI Program account.” You will need to add or change your affiliated institution to Northwestern. Instructions are available on the CITI website: How to add/change your affiliated institution or transfer completions
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  1. Your CITI account is now affiliated with Northwestern, allowing you to login via SSO with your Northwestern NetID and password.
  1. When you login to CITI, on your Courses page, click the Add a Course button.
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  1. The CITI Course Enrollment page will appear. Scroll down to Question 1, and select the appropriate RCR course.
    • If you are an undergraduate student, select RCR course for undergraduate students.
    • If you are a graduate student or a postdoctoral researcher, select RCR course for graduate students and postdocs.
    • At the bottom of the page, click the Submit button to enroll in the course.
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  1. You are now enrolled in the RCR course. To begin, click the Start Now button next to the course.
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Note: After you have completed all of the modules and passed the quizzes with a score of 80% or better, you will be able to download and print a course Completion Report. This report is a transcript providing a detailed record of your training. You will also have access to a course Completion Certificate and are strongly advised to retain a copy of the certificate for your records. The Office for Research Integrity does not issue certificates of CITI training completion.

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