In this project, Northern Arizona University (NAU) will build on its activities as an affiliate in the CGS Project for Scholarly Integrity to create an overarching plan for scholarly integrity. With the recent appointment of a key stakeholder group for research and scholarly integrity, NAU also builds on its commitment to become a global campus and prepare graduates for global citizenship by working to incorporate international issues into research and scholarly integrity training.
Proposal Plan and Activities
Northern Arizona’s project involves three phases:
- Developing Learning Outcomes: Learning outcomes will be defined through two strategic planning sessions. The first will include faculty and researchers primarily from the STEM disciplines who are involved in international collaborative research or programs. The second session will include graduate international students from primarily STEM fields and U.S. graduate students with international experience. Learning outcomes will be developed for the four core areas of 1) Collaborative Research, 2) Conflicts of Interest and Intellectual Property, 3) Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship, and 4) Resources and Materials: Access, Sharing, and Exchange.
- Creating Curricular Content: An internal request for proposals (RFP) will be distributed primarily in the STEM fields. RFPs will fund curriculum development hybrid training modules, those with an online component and a face-to-face workshop component, related to one or more of the core areas mentioned above. Emphasis will be placed on providing information on the four cores areas and cases studies for new researchers working in collaborative and/or international contexts. The training modules will also address cultural differences and sensitivity training.
- Assessment: The Office of Academic Assessment will assist faculty as they develop assessment plans for student learning objectives for each modules. Program modules will be revised accordingly based on assessment findings. A model of learning outcomes will be published on as part of an online repository available for the project.
Additional planned activities:
- NAU will create a web resource page related to international research integrity. The site will include the relevant learning outcomes and serve as a measure to communicate the importance of international scholarly integrity to the local campus and general public.
- PI’s will create a Blackboard Learn class for the Research and Scholarly Integrity project. All students, faculty, and other researchers will be allowed to enroll in the class with verification of their status at the university. International researchers and collaborators will also be able to access the class as guests.
- During the second year of the project, a workshop will be held to provide training to faculty mentors who have direct contact with U.S. and international students across campus and advise and mentor students in the areas of research integrity. Research design instructors will be invited to attend and encouraged to infuse their existing curriculum with content related to the modules developed on international research and scholarly integrity topics. This training will be offered yearly through the Graduate College and the Office of Research.