Working with Animals in Research.

Working with animals in research demands humane care and treatment. ISU operates the animal care facilities closely following all rules and regulations covering animal research. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, created by USDA and PHS rules, oversees all animal work at ISU. Animals are cared for in the animal facility by a manager and technicians with the oversight of a veterinarian. The animal program at ISU is AAALAC accredited. 

ISU procedures and facility information can be found on ISU's Animals in Research page.

Which ISU Policy applies?

General Policy for Animal Use ISUPP 7030

More information and training resources can be found on The Office of Research Integrity's Animal Resources page.

Working/collaborating with even one other person on your research takes time and effort to manage your project.

Before you start a project, you should discuss roles and responsibilities with each person. If your team is at different labs and universities, this is even more important. Discuss who is responsible for reports, who handles financial issues, how will compliance responsibilities be met, who will communicate with the funding agency and others, how will data be stored, how will intellectual property issues be handled; these are some items, among many, that should be discussed and decided upon before work begins. 

More information and resources can be found on The Office of Research Integrity's Collaborative Science page.

Conflicts of interest (COI) occur when researchers are faced with competing responsibilities in externally funded research.

A conflict of interest does not mean the project cannot take place. The conflict must be managed and is done so through a management plan. Which is a documented process for addressing financial, training, compliance, etc. issues that may arise. 

The following areas require full disclosure and monitoring to be managed properly during the course of research:

• Financial Gain
• Work Commitments
• Intellectual and Personal Matters

Which Policy applies? 

Conflict of Interest in Sponsored Projects ISUPP 7070 lists specific requirements.

Additional information and resources can be found on The Office of Research Integrity's Conflict of Interest and Commitment page.

What is Data Management?

Involves appropriate handling of data in accordance with related funding agency requirements.  Many funding agencies now require a data management plan as a part of the proposal you submit requesting funding. Before you collect data, it is important to create a data management plan. In the plan, you will document data collection methods, decide what data will be collected along with metadata, how will you preserve the data, and how will you share the data with collaborators and external data users, who is responsible for implementing the data management plan. 

Check out this page for more detail about data management and the data management plan.

For additional information and resources check out The Office of Research Integrity's Data Management page.