Conducting Ethical Research, IRB Review, and Examples

IRB Review:
The way we use this term at Dragonfly is the same as "applying for exemption". All Dragonfly students apply for exemption, even if they are working with students under 18 years old (this differs from what is presented on the Miami IRB site). All projects studying human subjects AND that will be shared with a broader audience should go through review.

IRB Approval of exemption application:
This is the response from IRB that typically says YES, GO FORWARD with your research. Sometimes the IRB will recommend a slight change to the consent process or ask for some clarification. So, in what circumstances would students need to do nothing in regards to IRB?

ANSWER: Those that do not have humans subjects. Or, those that do not plan to share this information and are using this experience as an assignment for graduate school. If viewing this as a "class assignment only" the research still needs to be conducted ethically (consent, anonymity, value of research, all treated fairly, etc.) and the consent statement should make it clear that this is for a class assignment only and NOT research.

The diagram below will help you determine if your project idea will need review by Miami University. Please look this over carefully, and let your instructor or adviser know if you have any questions or concerns. (Also included in the Conducting Ethical Research document linked above.)