Before I can get started with the fun stuff...

As much as I want to get started on the study already, there are a few preliminary tasks to complete that have taken up the last two weeks and possibly the next two. The one I have focused most of my attention to so far is my ethics training. I started it briefly back in October but I still had a lot of work to do when I resumed it two weeks ago. It's very essential that I complete the training before I pursue any research.

To start, I need to be certified by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). It's one of the leading educators of research ethics and other technicalities and it provides certification for the IRB that I can conduct research that is within contemporary, accepted standards. The IRB requires some kind of certification from anyone trying to conduct research because they are responsible to ensure that all research is conducted to the greatest ethical standards. Before I can start my research, I need to prove to the IRB that I understand these standards and can follow them by completing my CITI course. 

The CITI course is very extensive and provides custom courses for all kinds of different research whether it involves studying invertebrates, vertebrates, or people; or executing precise procedures; or even how to get certain aspects of a study approved by different organizations. The first topic I covered was conflicts of interest. The course provided information about all of the legal and scientific complications that can arise from a researcher having one of many conflicts of interest. It went in depth about the specifics about how to avoid these conflicts of interest and how they need to be reported. Overall, it was quite interesting to learn about the many measures that are set in order to make the scientific work as credible as possible. 

The second topic I covered was called investigators, staff and students. It explained all of the technicalities concerning research with animals. It covered how to get procedures approved and how to make studies as ethical as possible while also considering the scientific purpose and method behind many procedures. One of the more interesting topics covered was USDA pain distress categories. These are meant to give a universal categorization of procedures that involve inflicting different amounts of pain on different animals. The sub-course also went into detail about how experiments that have procedures that fall into higher categories get approved and why sometimes it can be important to conduct these kinds of studies. 

Recently, I started the third major topic called responsible conduct of research. This section so far has covered the importance and significance of authorship. It laid out the major problems with authorship today such as the lack of uniformity in how authors are to be listed in many situations. I also learned about what kind of work merits authorship in a published study and what contributions only deserve a place in the acknowledgements section and what responsibilities come from being a part of either. 

After I finish this topic, I will have only one more to complete and I will be certified. It's exciting to know that this certification is valid for up to four years so I won't have to complete this course when I pursue research in college. After I do become certified, I only have to complete a few more tasks such as creating an IRB amendment and I will be ready to start the data collection when the workout classes start in March.