Not
that I necessarily agree with this particular IRB, but I think that it *is*
a cost-benefit matter. Indeed, this is an issue that I discuss with my Research
Methods students when we cover research ethics. The argument would be that if
the measures are lacking reliability and validity, then there is nothing that we
can gain by using them in the research. And if there is nothing to be gained by
doing the research, then even "minimal risk" to the participants (note that it
isn't "no risk") cannot be justified. There is a potential cost with absolutely
no scientific benefit. Of course, what this ignores is the *educational* benefit
that may accrue students conducting research. The counter argument to
that is that the students will gain little educational benefit by
conducting research that has no validity. (When getting into
this discussion with students--both those in the Research Methods
class and later when we discuss research ethics in our senior
seminar--we follow it through all of these arguments. Frequently the
students leave class very frustrated because at the end of the discussion they
"don't know what the right answer is" and are still wrestling with the
issues. At that point I know I've done my job right!) Our IRB rarely
questions the particulars of the instruments in the proposals our students send
up to them, but we *try* to be pretty careful about what gets sent to them in
the first place.
********************************************
Robert T.
Herdegen III
Elliott Professor of Psychology and Chairman
Department of
Psychology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney, VA
23943
434-223-6166
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
********************************************
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 9:10 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
Subject: IRB's Gone Wild?
Our relatively new IRB has sent back a proposal from a colleague. The IRB refuses to evaluate the proposal without the author addressing issues of RELIABILITY and VALIDITY of measures. I find this to be a bit scary. While I feel that the IRB is properly charged with evaluating the risk to participants using a given method, I do not feel that the IRB has any place evaluating the appropriateness of the method beyond the evaluation of risk...especially in cases with minimum risk. My contention is that the reliabilty and validity of measures should be outside the perview of the IRB unless risk levels exceed minimum and a cost/benefit decision must be discussed.---
Thoughts? Can anyone help me out here? ---
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