CITI Training Quiz Exam
2026/2027: Research Ethics and
Compliance Questions and
Answers | Study Guide and
Practice Exam
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of informed consent in
human-subjects research?
A. To guarantee that participants will benefit directly from the study
B. To protect researchers from all legal liability
C. To ensure participants understand the study and voluntarily agree to
participate
D. To eliminate every possible risk associated with research
Answer: C. To ensure participants understand the study and voluntarily
agree to participate
Rationale: Informed consent is an ongoing process that helps
participants understand the research purpose, procedures, foreseeable
risks, potential benefits, and their rights before deciding whether to
participate.
Question 2: What is the primary role of an Institutional Review
Board (IRB)?
,A. To recruit participants for every research project
B. To review research involving human subjects and protect their rights
and welfare
C. To guarantee that every research hypothesis is correct
D. To publish research findings on behalf of investigators
Answer: B. To review research involving human subjects and protect
their rights and welfare
Rationale: An IRB evaluates applicable research proposals to ensure that
risks are minimized, risks and benefits are appropriately considered,
participant selection is equitable, and required consent and safeguards
are addressed.
Question 3: Which ethical principle emphasizes maximizing possible
benefits while minimizing potential harm?
A. Justice
B. Respect for persons
C. Confidentiality
D. Beneficence
Answer: D. Beneficence
Rationale: Beneficence requires researchers to consider the potential
benefits and risks of research and take appropriate steps to minimize
harm. It is one of the three core ethical principles identified in the
Belmont Report.
Question 4: A participant decides to leave a research study before it
is completed. What should the researcher do?
,A. Require the participant to finish the study
B. Respect the participant's decision to withdraw
C. Threaten to withhold unrelated services
D. Remove the participant's right to ask questions
Answer: B. Respect the participant's decision to withdraw
Rationale: Participation is voluntary. Participants generally may
discontinue participation without penalty or loss of benefits to which
they are otherwise entitled, consistent with applicable requirements and
the consent process.
Question 5: What is the difference between privacy and
confidentiality in research?
A. Privacy concerns access to individuals, while confidentiality concerns
the handling of information they provide
B. Privacy and confidentiality mean exactly the same thing
C. Privacy applies only to medical research, while confidentiality applies
only to surveys
D. Confidentiality means researchers never collect personal information
Answer: A. Privacy concerns access to individuals, while confidentiality
concerns the handling of information they provide
Rationale: Privacy relates to individuals' control over access to
themselves and their personal information. Confidentiality concerns how
information obtained during research is stored, accessed, used, and
disclosed.
Question 6: Which situation is an example of research misconduct?
, A. Reporting an unexpected finding accurately
B. Correcting a documented error in a research report
C. Fabricating experimental results and presenting them as genuine
D. Disclosing a study limitation in a publication
Answer: C. Fabricating experimental results and presenting them as
genuine
Rationale: Fabrication involves making up data or results and recording
or reporting them. Falsification and plagiarism are the other principal
categories of research misconduct under the commonly used U.S. federal
definition.
Question 7: What should a researcher do when a potential conflict
of interest arises?
A. Ignore it if the research is likely to be published
B. Conceal it from the institution
C. Automatically abandon all research activities
D. Disclose it through the applicable institutional process and follow
required management measures
Answer: D. Disclose it through the applicable institutional process and
follow required management measures
Rationale: Disclosure allows the institution to assess whether a financial
or other interest could improperly influence research decisions.
Appropriate management may include independent oversight,
restrictions, or other safeguards.
Question 8: Which Belmont Report principle focuses on fair
distribution of the burdens and benefits of research?
2026/2027: Research Ethics and
Compliance Questions and
Answers | Study Guide and
Practice Exam
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of informed consent in
human-subjects research?
A. To guarantee that participants will benefit directly from the study
B. To protect researchers from all legal liability
C. To ensure participants understand the study and voluntarily agree to
participate
D. To eliminate every possible risk associated with research
Answer: C. To ensure participants understand the study and voluntarily
agree to participate
Rationale: Informed consent is an ongoing process that helps
participants understand the research purpose, procedures, foreseeable
risks, potential benefits, and their rights before deciding whether to
participate.
Question 2: What is the primary role of an Institutional Review
Board (IRB)?
,A. To recruit participants for every research project
B. To review research involving human subjects and protect their rights
and welfare
C. To guarantee that every research hypothesis is correct
D. To publish research findings on behalf of investigators
Answer: B. To review research involving human subjects and protect
their rights and welfare
Rationale: An IRB evaluates applicable research proposals to ensure that
risks are minimized, risks and benefits are appropriately considered,
participant selection is equitable, and required consent and safeguards
are addressed.
Question 3: Which ethical principle emphasizes maximizing possible
benefits while minimizing potential harm?
A. Justice
B. Respect for persons
C. Confidentiality
D. Beneficence
Answer: D. Beneficence
Rationale: Beneficence requires researchers to consider the potential
benefits and risks of research and take appropriate steps to minimize
harm. It is one of the three core ethical principles identified in the
Belmont Report.
Question 4: A participant decides to leave a research study before it
is completed. What should the researcher do?
,A. Require the participant to finish the study
B. Respect the participant's decision to withdraw
C. Threaten to withhold unrelated services
D. Remove the participant's right to ask questions
Answer: B. Respect the participant's decision to withdraw
Rationale: Participation is voluntary. Participants generally may
discontinue participation without penalty or loss of benefits to which
they are otherwise entitled, consistent with applicable requirements and
the consent process.
Question 5: What is the difference between privacy and
confidentiality in research?
A. Privacy concerns access to individuals, while confidentiality concerns
the handling of information they provide
B. Privacy and confidentiality mean exactly the same thing
C. Privacy applies only to medical research, while confidentiality applies
only to surveys
D. Confidentiality means researchers never collect personal information
Answer: A. Privacy concerns access to individuals, while confidentiality
concerns the handling of information they provide
Rationale: Privacy relates to individuals' control over access to
themselves and their personal information. Confidentiality concerns how
information obtained during research is stored, accessed, used, and
disclosed.
Question 6: Which situation is an example of research misconduct?
, A. Reporting an unexpected finding accurately
B. Correcting a documented error in a research report
C. Fabricating experimental results and presenting them as genuine
D. Disclosing a study limitation in a publication
Answer: C. Fabricating experimental results and presenting them as
genuine
Rationale: Fabrication involves making up data or results and recording
or reporting them. Falsification and plagiarism are the other principal
categories of research misconduct under the commonly used U.S. federal
definition.
Question 7: What should a researcher do when a potential conflict
of interest arises?
A. Ignore it if the research is likely to be published
B. Conceal it from the institution
C. Automatically abandon all research activities
D. Disclose it through the applicable institutional process and follow
required management measures
Answer: D. Disclose it through the applicable institutional process and
follow required management measures
Rationale: Disclosure allows the institution to assess whether a financial
or other interest could improperly influence research decisions.
Appropriate management may include independent oversight,
restrictions, or other safeguards.
Question 8: Which Belmont Report principle focuses on fair
distribution of the burdens and benefits of research?
