Facility for Rare Isotope Beams Research Code of Conduct

Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) users are expected to communicate and publish the results of their research in a timely manner. During this process, conduct of research should be in accordance with the highest scientific, professional, and ethical standards and in a manner that fosters a supportive environment and enhances the reputation of the individual researcher, his/her/their colleagues, and FRIB in its support of the mission of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

MSU receives financial assistance from DOE to operate FRIB. FRIB users are subject to Title 9 rules implemented by Michigan State University through the MSU Office of Institutional Equity. MSU employees are mandatory reporters to the MSU OIE. The MSU Office of Institutional Equity will investigate reports of misconduct covered by Title 9.

With the submission of FRIB research proposals, users agree to adhere to the following:

  • Clearly define expectations for proposals and projects for which they are the principal investigator, including research roles and support for co-investigators and participants
  • Clearly define who will be responsible for what parts of the experiment analysis, communicate these responsibilities, and adhere to those agreements
  • Acknowledge and reference previous work and not claim credit for ideas that were not their own
  • Ensure that all collaborators and co-authors on proposals have the opportunity to review, comment on, and approve proposals prior to their submission

Users performing research at FRIB agree to adhere to the following principles:

  • Preserve and maintain documentation, such as original data and auxiliary information, with the diligence required to enable others to verify and reproduce results
  • Take responsibility for safety and be considerate of the impacts of research on co-workers and the environment
  • Conduct, manage, judge, and report scientific research objectively, honestly, and thoroughly
  • Be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data and recognize the limitations of one’s understanding
  • Refrain from activities while under the influence of illicit controlled substances or alcoholic beverages while on the Laboratory premises
  • Acknowledge all conflicts of interest
  • Refrain from knowingly engaging in activities where a conflict of interest impedes my ability to act in an objective, honest, and ethical manner

When communicating results of non-proprietary research, users agree to:

  • Claim authorship in a work only if they have made a significant intellectual contribution as part of conception, design, data collection, data analysis, or interpretation and made significant contributions to the scientific communication’s preparation
  • Not grant authorship to others who have not met the requirement of a significant intellectual contribution
  • Ensure that all collaborators and co-authors on publications have the opportunity to review, comment on, and approve scientific communications prior to their release
  • Recognize past and present contributors and not accept or take credit for another’s accomplishments
  • Properly reference and acknowledge past work and accomplishments of colleagues and others in the scientific community
  • Acknowledge the FRIB Operations Grant 
    • This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics and used resources of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility under Award Number DE-SC0000661.

When working with others, users agree to:

  • Foster a diverse and inclusive research environment that welcomes a diversity of thought and approaches
  • Create an environment in which sexual and other forms of harassment are not tolerated
  • Actively participate in efforts to ensure a positive and supportive environment where everyone is able to work effectively
  • Listen to, encourage, and consider the opinions of others
  • Be honest and professional in their interactions
  • Be cognizant of, and vigilant against, the negative consequences of conscious or unconscious bias

Violations of this code should be reported to the FRIB Manager for User Relations or can be done anonymously via the FRIB Concerns Program (FRIB employees), the FRIB User Organization website, or the Michigan State University Misconduct Hotline.

The FRIB Scientific Director will investigate reports of misconduct. The MSU Office of Inclusion will investigate Title 9 violations. Consequences for violations will be on a sliding scale from discussion with the individual to denial of use of FRIB facilities. Misconduct will be reported to the FRIB Program Advisory Committee and the information used to judge if a collaboration would be able to successfully carry out future research.

(Adapted from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Research Code of Conduct and Argonne Research Code of Conduct)