CITI is the online training program used at Hanover College for training all personnel conducting research involving human subjects.
These materials available through CITI are designed and regularly updated to:
- Enhance the knowledge and professionalism of investigators, staff, and students conducting research in the United States and internationally.
- Educate members, administrators, and leadership of Hanover College's committees that review and oversee research.
- Promote ethical research at Hanover College through the education of research administrators and organizational leadership.
- CITI Program content is designed to be a component of an overall foundation of training for research at Hanover College.
Hanover College's research personnel, including principal investigators, co-investigators, faculty sponsors, student investigators, and any researcher who is directly involved in research including research with human or animal subjects, must complete CITI training.
Researchers should submit evidence of CITI completion by providing CITI certificate with application to IRB.
Belmont Report: Download HERE: Belmont Report
The Belmont Report published in 1979 by HSS is the foundational ethical framework for human subjects research in the United States. The report was drafted by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research in response to historical abuses, most notably the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The framework translates its core principles into three practical applications:
- Respect for Persons → Informed Consent: Subjects must be given the opportunity to choose what shall or shall not happen to them, and must be provided with adequate information to make an informed, voluntary decision.
- Beneficence → Assessment of Risks and Benefits: Researchers must rigorously calculate the probability and magnitude of possible harm versus potential benefits, ensuring risks are justifiable.
- Justice → Selection of Subjects: Research burdens and benefits must be distributed fairly, preventing the exploitation of vulnerable populations (e.g., prisoners, children).
These concepts form the regulatory foundation of the Common Rule (45 CFR 46) and guide Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).