Training programs aimed at facilitating ethical and responsible research (ER2) are a central mechanism for improving researchers' familiarity with rules, policies, and professional norms, as well as for cultivating more complex competencies such as ethical reasoning and decision-making. Although computer-based programs (e.g., CITI) are widely used, their efficacy in strengthening ethical reasoning is limited compared to face-to-face formats. This research sought to close that gap by developing and rigorously testing innovative hybrid training approaches that integrate the interactivity and engagement of in-person instruction with the scalability of computer-based delivery.


The interventions focused on early-career researchers, who practiced responding to animated video- and text-based ethical dilemmas relevant to the social sciences (e.g., data management, study conduct, professional and business practices). Embedded, real-time expert feedback was designed to enhance reasoning and decision-making in ethically complex situations. A randomized study compared the relative effectiveness of situational judgment test (SJT)-based training with more traditional critical incident-based approaches, providing the first empirical comparison of these methods for ER2 training.


This work contributes to understanding how ethical decision-making can be taught in scalable, digital environments and applied across diverse research contexts. It also advances knowledge of video- and SJT-based training methods, which show strong promise but remain underexamined in the ethics domain.