Research Collaboration

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Research Collaboration
jgiff001_at_umaryland.edu 410-706-1853

• Things to Consider when Entering into a

Joe Giffels Assistant Vice President for Academic
Affairs Director, Research Integrity
Office Conflict of Interest Officer
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NIH Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Topics

• Data management
• Mentor/trainee responsibilities
• Publication practices and responsible authorship
• Peer review
• Collaborative science
• Research misconduct
• Conflict of interest and commitment
• Human subjects
• Research involving animals

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What is a Research Collaboration?

• Collaborative research is the participation of
  more than one person in the significant aspects
  of a research study. It can range from the
  interaction of a mentor/advisor and a graduate
  student to large consortia involving research
  teams at multiple sites.

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Sources of Problems in Collaborative Research

• Style differences among collaborators
• Style differences among scientific disciplines
• Differences between academic and industrial
  research with respect to publishing results and
  sharing data
• Differences in ethical standards and norms among
  different institutions and nations

Adapted from Collaborative Science Columbia
University
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Does everyone understand and agree upon

• Endpoint, goals, outcomes and products of
  collaboration?
• Expected contributions of collaborators?
• Mechanism for routine scientific communication
  among collaborators?
• Processes for managing data (collection,
  validation, storage, analysis, sharing,
  publishing)?

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Does everyone understand and agree upon

• Criteria and process for assigning authorship and
  credit (abstracts, presentations, articles)?
• Authority, responsibility and process for
  personnel decisions? Budgetary decisions? Other
  administrative decisions?
• How media inquiries will be handled?
• Ownership and process for handling resulting IP?

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Does everyone understand and agree upon

• Responsibilities for progress and final
  scientific reporting?
• Process for deciding on redirection of research
  agenda as discoveries are made?
• Process for negotiating resulting new
  collaborations and spin-off projects?
• Process for transition should one or more
  collaborators leave the collaboration or change
  institutions?

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www.ori.dhhs.gov/education/products/ rcr_collabora
tion.shtml