BBSP 705 Rigor and Reproducibility in Research

Instructor: Rob Nicholas (robert_nicholas@med.unc.edu)

Date: TBD

Time: TBD

The goal of this class is to introduce topics concerning rigor and reproducibility in research early in students’  careers  (i.e.  2nd  year in graduate school)  in a  campus-wide and consistent format to ensure that each trainee contributes to the integrity of  UNC  research culture.  The importance of reproducibility and rigor in academic science has been highlighted in multiple publications in a  myriad of journals,  all describing the problems arising from irreproducible research and suggesting ways to increase rigor and reproducibility.  This subject matter is both timely and important.  The  NIH  now requires that all  R,  F,  and T  grants include a  section addressing  Rigor and  Reproducibility,  both for proposed research  (R  and  F grants)  and for training  (F  and  T  grants).  We have based this class on addressing rigor and reproducibility at all stages of the classic scientific method of hypothesis testing  (i.e. generating a  hypothesis à designing an experiment à  collecting,  analyzing,  and  interpreting  data  à  publishing),  and  identifying  the areas  in  which  one’s  research  can  lead  to  incorrect  conclusions  and  erroneous  publications.  Our goal is to make the class both informative and engaging and to foster class discussion based on real-world scenarios.