Introduction to IRB
Time to Read: <2 Minutes
I have had the pleasure to serve on an Institutional Review Board since 2016. The experience has benefitted me time and again as a researcher and as a friend to researchers. While helping many of my peers through this daunting process, I have realized two things:- No matter which univeristy in which state someone is attending, there are some common misconceptions about how IRB works.
- There is not much written in terms of practical advice to guide new researchers through the IRB process.
Note: My advice is general and will vary from school to school. I am not a lawyer or a compliance officer... just someone who wants to help.
Depending on the program and chair, a new researcher may not have even considered IRB as they wrote and then defended their first three chapters. They may not have realized that if their procedures put people at risk, even inadvertently, they will need to explain why the benefits of the study outweigh the risks. They may not have realized that they cannot begin collecting data until the IRB says it's OK. They may not have realized that they may have to redesign their study to protect human participants.
The IRB can seem like an all-powerful, mysterious committee who holds your fate in its hands. Some seasoned researchers dread the process as much as they dreaded defending their dissertation.
That is why I am starting this blog. I want to help novice researchers understand what those questions are really asking and the best way to address them… hopefully before you start chapter three, not after you finish!
tl;dr Designing a study without considering human protections can delay IRB approval, which can be stressful and expensive since you cannot begin collecting data until you have permission from the IRB.
Consider IRB While Designing Your Study
Most researchers are introduced to their school's Institutional Review Board (IRB) while working on their dissertation. It is one item on a long dissertation checklist...an obstacle between proposal and research. As soon as they successfully pass their prelim and change their email signature from "Doctoral Student" to "Doctoral Candidate," they revisit the checklist and see IRB Approval.
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| Dissertation Checklist Example. Notice how IRB is not even mentioned until after the proposal defense. |
IRB is often misunderstood if not downright resented.
My Uncommon Introduction to IRB
My IRB introduction was different. I was asked to join an IRB at a university as a community representative. At the time, I worked for the school district in the same city and had not even begun my own doctoral studies. I had never considered how people could be harmed by careless or unscrupulous researchers and was happy to learn that universities and other research organizations have boards to ensure participants are protected.
Since I had never sought IRB approval, I did not consider how the IRB process could cause stress for researchers who were unfamiliar with its purpose. That came later when colleagues who knew my role started requesting feedback on their IRB applications.
Since I had never sought IRB approval, I did not consider how the IRB process could cause stress for researchers who were unfamiliar with its purpose. That came later when colleagues who knew my role started requesting feedback on their IRB applications.
My Purpose
I have worked with doctoral students from multiple universities and can honestly say that the IRB process is almost always confounding. The application is long. The questions are repetitive. You get the sense that there is a “right” answer, but you're not sure what they are.The IRB can seem like an all-powerful, mysterious committee who holds your fate in its hands. Some seasoned researchers dread the process as much as they dreaded defending their dissertation.
That is why I am starting this blog. I want to help novice researchers understand what those questions are really asking and the best way to address them… hopefully before you start chapter three, not after you finish!
tl;dr Designing a study without considering human protections can delay IRB approval, which can be stressful and expensive since you cannot begin collecting data until you have permission from the IRB.
