In general, of the 10 responses I received, almost all reported that they had some type of IRB that reviews human subjects research at their institution. The reasons varied:
Federal Mandate
It seems to be the consensus that federal guidelines for setting up
an IRB and reviewing research need only be followed if the college receives
federal funds (grants) for research involving human subjects (though others
were not quite as sure, believing the requirement may exist for any
federal monies). However, some schools follow federal guidelines
even if they don't have to, believing the guidelines to be a good model
to follow and because they want to have such a process in place should
a faculty member wish to pursue federal money for human subjects research.
State Law
Two Tipsters from liberal arts colleges in Virginia reported that it
is state law for them to have an IRB - now I just have to find out
what the state law in Florida is (anyone know?).
Other reasons
Other schools pointed out that even it there were not federal and state
guidelines, they would have an IRB because (1) if researchers who do and
do not receive federal funding are held to a different standard of review,
some legal risk could incur; (2) it is important to ensure that appropriate
checks and balances are in place for research ethics; (3) it sends a message
to students and others that research ethics are important; and (4) it provides
legal protection to the researcher collecting data with non-college student
populations. (Interestingly, no one really stated that they wanted
to make sure that research participants' rights are protected!)
Lastly, several people generously offered their websites to me, where I could find IRB forms, etc. I now share them with you. (I trust that unless someone marked their reply to me "Private," that they did not mind my sharing the information and websites with others.)
http://academic.strose.edu/academic/flintr/
http://www.valdosta.edu/grants/
http://lasi.lunchburg.edu/werner_d/public/irb/
http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/irb/irb_guidebook.htm (this is the Office for Human Research Protection's guidebook)
http://ohsr.od.nih.gov (Another website address given to me for the Office of Human Research Protection)
http://www.nih.gov (Need I say more? You can search human subjects topics here.)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/SBIRConf2000/Scharke/sld001.htm (A slide show about human subjects protection)
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2000pres/20000606a.html
There are listservs for everything, and IRBs are no exception: http://www.mcwirb.org (Interestingly, to join this listserv, you have to tell them why you want to join, and you have to be "approved" before being allowed to do so. I've joined and have found many of the topics interesting. Just yesterday, an article from the Washington Post was circulated, about a research study that was halted because of more than minimal risk to children. Apparently, the researcher had (actually) said that the risk involved to the children would be no more than they would encounter "playing in traffic"!)
Thanks again to everyone - you've been a big help. Now, I just have to justify to my colleagues why we need an IRB and find people willing to serve on it. To be consistent with federal guidelines, if we choose to go there, I also have to find a disinterested party outside of the college to serve on the board. Since most research we do around here doesn't involve protected groups, more than minimal risk, or deception, most students (and faculty) can probably get away with an expedited review of their research, which could be done by just one member of the Board. I think I've just made more work for myself! :)
Have a good one, and thanks again!
Marjorie Hardy
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