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.Ìý
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TheÌýResearch and Scholarship Integrity programÌýfamiliarizes students and postdoctoral fellows with good research and scholarship practices and with some of the ethical issues they may encounter during their professional careers.ÌýÌýBC’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,ÌýOffice 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: 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.Ìý
Please note that during the 2025-26 school year, some sessions will be held in person, and some sessions will be held remotely, to accommodate as many participants as possible.
Schedule 2026-2027
Thursday, September 17, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm.
Murray Function Room (Yawkey)
Data Acquisition & Management, Copyright, Teaching & Ethics, and Digital Scholarship
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Speakers:Ìý
Matt Gregas - Data Acquisition and Management
Elliott Hibbler - Copyright
Francesca Minnone and Kim Humphrey - Teaching & Ethics
Joanna Schroeder - Digital Scholarship
Lunch will be provided!
Friday, September 18, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm.
Gasson 100
Importance of Mentoring in Ethical & Responsible Conduct of Research and Resilience and Culture in Academic Research
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Speakers:Ìý
Lunch will be provided!
Wednesday, October 7, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm.
Heights Room
Research Misconduct and Responsible Authorship
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Speakers:Ìý
- Research Misconduct
Erin Sibley and Dani Melendez - Responsible Authorship
Lunch will be provided!
Wednesday, November 4, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm.
Heights Room
Ethics of AI in Research and Teaching
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Speakers:Ìý
Lunch will be provided!
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 contactÌýErin 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.