Week 6 IRB & ethics

This week we talked about ethical issues in research involving human participants. An IRB approval should be obtained for any research which is going to involve participants.

Research in second language field usually goes to the category of “Exempt”. To apply for an IRB approval, you can go to the website http://www.hawaii.edu/irb/ to download the application forms. The application package includes: a. Declaration of Exemption Forms; b. Application for New Approval; c. Consent Forms; and d. any appendix, such as tests or questionnaires.

The form of Application for New Approval provides IRBs necessary information in the format they are familiar with. There are three tips in preparing the form: a. You can put “as soon as approved” as the start date. If you want to give a specific date, please allow at least two weeks for IRBs to work on your application. b. Never go beyond the space on the application forms. Keep it short and simple. c. It is important to mention benefit. No one wants to waste time on research without any benefits to your participants or your society in general.

The consent form should be written in a language comprehensible and simple enough to be understood by participants. It is important to emphasize voluntary participation. Participants may choose to accept or refuse the invitation to participate in research and they can withdraw anytime without any consequences. It is also important to ensure confidentiality of the participants. Avoid mentioning the name of the program where you collect data, because people may be able to know who your participants are. You can also change the detailed description of your participants as long as it will not affect your study.

An IRB approval should be obtained before you start to recruit your participants. Different universities may have different requirements for IRB. If you plan to collect data from universities other than UH, please double check with the local authorization to see whether they have additional requirements.

Ethnic issues are something we should always keep in mind when we are planning research involving human participants. The process of IRB application helps us to ensure that necessary steps have been taken to protect our participants. In addition, it helps us to think through and plan out the steps involved in research design.