Scholarly Messenger

April 4, 2012

Name Change for IRB Office
By Sally Logue Post
The office that coordinates with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Protection of Human Subjects Committee is changing its name to better reflect the services it provides that do not directly involve the committee.
The office will be called the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP). The HRPP is overseen by Donna Peters, program manager and Brian Piscacek, program coordinator. Read Full Story >>

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Change to Effort Certification Interval
The following information applies to all faculty members with sponsored project funding.
The new effort certification system implemented in 2011, has enabled the university to achieve compliance with effort certification regulations in a much more efficient and timely manner. After much feedback and approval by our federal oversight agency, the university will transition to a semi-annual certification period, beginning with calendar year 2012. Statements will also be released to faculty earlier in the certification period to allow for additional time to complete certifications, especially in the summer months prior to the university's fiscal year-end.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at 742-2985 or at simone.barnhill@ttu.edu.
Below is the new timeline for certification.

Simone Barnhill is managing director of Sponsored Programs Accounting and Reporting.

NSF Posts Information on Merit Review Criteria
The National Science Foundation has posted Important Notice 132, Implementation of Revised National Science Board-approved (NSB) Merit Review Criteria to the NSF website.
This notice provides information regarding the foundation's implementation of the National Science Board report on the review and revision of the NSF's merit review criteria.
While the NSF merit review criteria remain unchanged, Notice 132 outlines three principals to better clarify the merit review criteria.

RCR/Research Integrity

An Interest in Plagiarism
By Marianne Evola
During recent presentations on Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR), I've found that the presentation stalls when I reach the issue of plagiarism. At this point, an audience of faculty and staff tend to initiate intense discussion about plagiarism incidents, just or unjust, accidental or intentional. Discussions generally revolve around how to define plagiarism clearly, and “how many consecutive words” define plagiarism. At this point, someone will generally interject that if you are counting words, you are obviously using someone's ideas, and it is time to cite your sources. Out of concern for students that are involved in these incidents, I have recently been asked to address plagiarism with a few student groups. As such, I thought addressing plagiarism concerns and experiences may be a timely contribution to the Scholarly Messenger. Read Full Story >>

Upcoming Events

Budget Basics Seminar
Budget Basics seminar helps researchers learn how to begin the grant proposal budget process, what to include and how to simplify the process.

• April 12, 2012
  10 a.m.-noon
  Room 151 TLPDC, Library
  Register Here >>

Hogg Foundation Executive Director
Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the Hogg Foundation will speak Apirl 19 and 20 on campus. Deatils are still being finalized.
His lecture will replace one by John Wilson of the USAID. That lecture will be rescheduled at a later date.

2nd Annual Responsible Conduct of Research Conference
This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Kenneth Pimple, the director of the Teaching Research Ethics Programs at the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at Indiana University.
The conference is sponsored by the Texas Tech University Ethics Center; the Office of Research & Innovation; the Museum of Texas Tech; the Graduate School; and the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center. Read More >>

• April 16, 2012
  9:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
  Student Union Building

Undergraduate Research Conference 2012
Students from Texas Tech and other universities have the opportunity to attend sessions geared toward undergraduate research, present research in a paper or poster presentations format, and network with fellow researchers.
The annual conference is hosted by the Texas Tech University Center for Undergraduate Research; the Texas Tech University/Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Education Program at the Center for the Integration of Science Education & Research; the Office of Research & Innovation; and the Honors College. Read More >>

• April 16-20, 2012
  Student Union Building