Stanford launches CTSA-wide survey on Rigor and Reproducibility

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is calling for formal training and support for practices and activities that enhance research rigor and reproducibility (R&R). This is requiring many institutions to take a close look at both the formal and informal curricula of their training programs to see if the topics that comprise R&R are adequately covered, and whether related practices have been adopted by faculty.

Stanford University’s Program on Research Rigor & Reproducibility (SPORR), directed by Associate Dean and Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine Steven Goodman, MD, MHS, PhD, is part of Spectrum, Stanford’s Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Education. Through its projects, SPORR creates and shares resources and tools for R&R within Stanford and nationally, and in that way aids researchers in producing the finest quality research. Sharing resources, course outlines, and teaching materials could benefit all CSTA members, and the next step for R&R within the CTSA consortium may be the creation of a centralized hub for R&R resources, similar to the recently announced Research Integrity Hub for scholarly journals.

SPORR recently launched a survey to assess R&R activities across all CTSA institutions. This 10-minute survey has been sent to CTSA Principal Investigators and aims to collect information on the current state of R&R education, training, monitoring, support, or any other related institutional activities, whether or not directly CTSA funded. The results of the survey will be shared as a report for NCATS, with the CTSA consortium, and in a publication. The goal is to optimize information sharing and adoption of best R&R practices across the CTSA hubs.

If you are a PI who has not yet filled out the survey, please complete it now, or forward the survey to the person at your institution most knowledgeable about R&R activities. Instructions are in the survey email. We understand that many institutions may not yet have such programs, but we would like to include that information as well.

For more information, or if you need the survey invitation re-sent, please contact SPORR Associate Director Mario Malički, MD, PhD, at mmalicki@stanford.edu.