PART 1: RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

Research is an important component of every academic activity, and is, therefore, the source of content for quality instructional programs. New Mexico State University recognizes research as essential to the vitality of the university and undertakes the support of research as part of its institutional responsibility.

The mission statement expresses the importance of research as one of the university’s core functions: New Mexico State University is the state’s land-grant university, serving the educational needs of New Mexico’s diverse population through comprehensive programs of education, research, extension education, and public service.

The university promotes academic inquiry and protects the academic freedom of those engaged in it. This includes the support of research and off-campus study as potentially valuable experiences for faculty and students. These experiences may take the form of sabbaticals, internships, intensive study of specialized techniques, and conducting research at specialized facilities. These opportunities offer researchers considerable flexibility in their training and promote valuable contacts among faculty members, students, the university, industry and other research institutions.

PART 2: PROTECTIONS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of the university to protect the rights, well-being, and personal privacy of individuals participating in research projects, while also maintaining a favorable climate for the conduct of scientific inquiry and protecting the interests of the university. The university has established the Institutional Review Board to regulate the participation of human subjects in research, consistent with federal law. (See ARP 11.01 Part 4) All research conducted at or by the university, regardless of funding source, will adhere to the requirements of the Institutional Review Board and the following tenets:

1. Protection of Human Subjects Paramount: The university, including its faculty, staff, contractors and student body will be responsible for the protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects.
2. Avoidance of Unreasonable Health Risk: No human subject involved in a research activity will be exposed to unreasonable risk to health or well-being, in order to ensure the subject’s physical and mental safety and well-being.
3. Participation is Voluntary: All participation by human subjects must be voluntary; no subject will be coerced in any way to participate in a research project. A request by any subject to withdraw from a research activity must be honored promptly without penalty or loss of benefits to which the subject is otherwise entitled, within the limits of the research.
4. Confidentiality: The confidentiality of information received from subjects in experiments or respondents to questionnaires will be protected, both during and after the conduct of a research activity, consistent with applicable law.
5. Signed Consent from Participant: In research which involves more than minimal risk, or which involves substantial stress or discomfort, such risk, stress or discomfort must be carefully explained in advance to the subject. The researcher(s) must be satisfied that the explanation has been understood by the subject, and that the written consent of the subject, is obtained and kept as a matter of record. The researcher(s) will ensure that the method used to obtain informed consent (written, audio-recorded, witnessed) is the most appropriate for the participant, and for providing appropriate evidence of informed consent consistent with the approval granted by the Institutional Review Board and with applicable federal law.
6. Signed Consent from Legal Guardian: Research involving certain subject populations (e.g., persons under the age of 18 or persons with impaired decision making capacity) will require a legal guardian to provide signed consent.

PART 3: PROTECTIONS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING THE USE OF ANIMALS

As a land grant institution, it is the university’s role to conduct, if not lead, research designed to optimize the use of animals in the service of man, and to advance human and animal welfare. Consistent with applicable law and regulations, the university supports the use of animals in research, education, and as agricultural resources, provided that the usage is reasonably expected to advance knowledge about human or animal welfare. It is the university’s policy to meet all federal and state standards and regulations applicable to animal use.

The university has established the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to administer policies and procedures regarding university care and use of vertebrate animals. (See ARP 11.01 Research Oversight and Risk Management Part 5) Any concerns regarding the use or care of animals by the institution should be addressed to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

PART 4: PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Research units, including but not limited to the Physical Science Laboratory, receive many sponsored awards in which information provided by the sponsor or generated by or in connection with the research effort may be considered sensitive: classified, controlled unclassified, and/or proprietary. Units keeping or using sensitive information should adopt appropriate procedures for its protection and train faculty, staff, and students whose positions require access to such information. All employees must comply with applicable laws, university policy, rules and procedures, and contractual agreements regarding non-disclosure of sensitive information. (e.g. ARP 5.40- Access to Student Educational Records – FERPA Compliance; ARP 15.11 – Acceptable Use of ICT Equipment and Resources; ARP 15.17 – Employee Access to Data and Potential Conflict of Interest; ARP 15.50 – NMSU Institutional Data Security; ARP 15.51 – NMSU Account Password Requirements; ARP 15.55 – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards; ARP 15.60 – Management of Health Information ; HIPAA Compliance; ARP 15.62 Protection of Federal Information; FISMA Compliance;ARP 15.63 Protection of Customer Information; GLBA Compliance; ARP 15.91 – Identity Theft Protection; NMSU Business Ethics Handbook, and the Physical Science Laboratory’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Conduct, p. 9.)