Research Ethics, Deliverables, and Public Communication - Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President

Scholar Research Deliverables

During and after the research summer, scholars are expected to complete several outputs. Mentors are not responsible for managing these submissions, but awareness of the deliverables can help mentors support scholars as they translate their research into public-facing work.

Research project outline
Three Laidlaw Scholars Network posts during the research period
Research poster
Research presentation
Research reflection
Research paper

Laidlaw Scholars Network and Public Communication

The Laidlaw Scholars Network is a global platform for scholars to share research, reflections, leadership development, and project updates. Mentors may wish to help scholars think about audience, background context, the significance of the research question, how to communicate complex ideas clearly, and what should not be shared publicly because of confidentiality, privacy, unpublished findings, or community partner considerations.

Laidlaw Scholars Network

https://laidlawscholars.network/

The Laidlaw Scholars Network is a core part of the Laidlaw experience and the global online community for Laidlaw Scholars.

Research Ethics, Safety, and IRB

Mentors should help scholars identify and follow relevant ethical and safety requirements. Depending on the project, this may include IRB or human-subjects review, informed consent, data privacy, lab safety training, fieldwork safety, responsible conduct of research, animal care protocols, community partner expectations, authorship norms, responsible use of AI or computational tools, sensitive information, or export controls.

If there is uncertainty about whether a project requires review or approval, mentors and scholars should consult the relevant Tufts office before the scholar begins that portion of the work.

Tufts Institutional Review Board

https://viceprovost.tufts.edu/sberirb/

This resource is important for projects involving human participants, interviews, surveys, identifiable private information, educational records, community-based research, or other human-subjects methods.

Oxford Character Project and Ethical Leadership

Laidlaw Scholars also participate in the Oxford Character Project training, which focuses on ethical, self-aware, values-driven leadership. Mentors are not asked to teach this curriculum, but the research experience often gives scholars meaningful opportunities to practice developing different character dimensions.