Required Training (CITI)

Instructions for CITI Certification for Ethical Research with Human Subjects

All faculty, staff and students engaged in research with human participants MUST complete a series of online training courses through the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI).  Additional information about the program and its affiliation with the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) is available on the OHRP website:  https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/.

CITI modules standardize ethics training for research, and certify persons conducting research on human participants within the United States. The oversight of institutional and regional boards assures compliance with these standards at the national, regional, and local level.

Who should complete CITI training?

For research involving human participants, all university personnel affiliated with the study as primary investigators or research assistants must complete the course.  This includes faculty, staff, and students (undergraduate and graduate).  The course must be completed PRIOR to submission of the Human Subjects Research Board application.

For CiTI trainings completed as part of a course requirement (e.g., Research Methods), it is recommended that faculty complete the course prior to assigning it. 

What to do?

  • Go the website: www.citiprogram.org
  • Register as a new user (make sure to affiliate with Roger Williams University).
  • Select the following modules:
    • Social & Behavioral Research, Basic Course
  • Complete the exam. The Course is separated into modules to allow you to log in and out at your own pace. Completion of the course will require 4-6 hours.
  • Students may print a copy of their certificate of completion and provide this to their professors.
  • Each certificate is valid for three years.

Please be reminded that The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course will not meet the requirement. If the RCR course is the only course you have completed, you will be asked by the HSRB to complete the required course. 

Questions about how to add or remove courses.  Please see this step by step instruction guide:

CITI Training Steps

Please contact Selby Conrad (sconrad@rwu.edu) for questions regarding CITI training as it pertains to RWU HSRB applications.