We recently posted an item addressing how we can’t avoid creating analyzable data in this wired world. Whenever we scan our grocery store loyalty card, or post something online, or even start a Google search, we’re contributing to a dataset somewhere. Can this data be used in research? What are the ethics of doing so? […]
Time’s running out for a quick and easy half-hour of education credit
The target date to post our next Research News Blog quiz is June 30. That goal means you only have a few days left to get your 0.5 hours of Certified Research Specialist education credit on our current blog quiz. Go to learnondemand.org, and enter “IRB” in the search box at upper right to access […]
Dissension (within limits) is not necessarily a bad thing
Our IRB comprises multiple people because we want to get a diversity of opinions represented on the board. So it’s not unexpected to find that not everybody agrees on a particular submission. Votes on motions do not need to be unanimous – motions need only a majority of the vote to pass. Everyone who has served […]
NICE review reminder now appears on approval letters
You may have noticed some new text at the end of your new submission approval letters, encouraging you to request a NICE review. New Investigation Consult and Education reviews are a free, voluntary service provided by the UAMS Office of Research Compliance (ORC) for newly approved studies. You can request a NICE review for any study that has just […]
Some common factors behind research misconduct
Getting additional training is one common requirement for investigators who are subjects of noncompliance determinations. While full-blown misconduct findings are rare, they do happen, and often have their roots in compliance-related problems. A recent article in the journal Nature found that investigators subject to action by their home institutions (e.g. having their research privileges suspended) aren’t necessarily […]
Screening adult populations for capacity to consent
Adult subjects are routinely assumed to be able to weigh the potential risks and benefits of joining a research study. However, functional abilities can vary depending upon the population, and can even fluctuate in a particular individual, due to mental or physical health changes. So what kind of things does the IRB look for when reviewing […]
Children, assent, quality-of-life, and life and death decisions
This child was younger than the usual 7-year-old cutoff we typically use for obtaining assent, and this involves treatment, not research, but this is a powerful story about a child’s decisions for medical care, and the debate over the extent adults should be involved in those decisions. Trigger warning – this is potentially a multiple-tissue story.
We are all research subjects — even though we may not know it
A speaker at April’s annual AAHRPP conference (yes, the same AAHRPP that accredits us) mentioned that, whether we know it or not, we are all research subjects. Every time we swipe a store’s loyalty card to get a discount, we create analyzable data. Ditto for using electronic activity and health trackers like FitBits, MapMyWalk, or […]
We’re cracking down on form completion
We’ve been getting a close look lately from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), a.k.a. our accrediting agency, as part of a reaccreditation application. One bit of feedback AAHRPP has provided is that we need to pay closer attention to the way our CLARA forms are filled out to ensure the forms are accurate and complete. […]
The rewards of research
Sometimes you read a media report about study results, and all you can do is think, “Wow, that sounds so cool!” Unless, of course, you work at an IRB. Then you also can’t help but think about the risks and benefits, and how a study like this would be handled at your institution. How do […]