Research Review and Ethics
The Department of Psychology's Research Review and Ethics Committee is a sub-committee of the University's Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research (IRB) that is authorized to review and approve studies that involve human participants or records from human participants that involve no more than minimal risk and will not receive federal funding. All proposals that receive federal funding or are judged by the Department of Psychology's Research Review and Ethics Committee as involving more than minimal risk must be submitted to and approved by the IRB.
Procedure:
All forms (see below), questionnaires or instruments to be used, and copies of other materials which the participants will experience must be submitted to the chair of the committee. Submit one printed copy of all materials and an electronic copy of all materials in a single file. Please review proposals carefully prior to submission to the committee. The faculty sponsor reviews and approves the proposal and related materials before submission. Proposals which are confusing, contradictory, unclear, or poorly presented (e.g. typographical errors) may require a longer period of time for the committee to complete the review. In extreme cases, the proposal may be returned for revision.
The committee is typically given five business days to read and respond to proposals, depending on the number of proposals being processed. The chair will forward the committee's comments to the faculty member who is sponsoring the research. Historically, most proposals are not approved on their first pass through the committee.
Once the proposal has been approved by the committee, the chair of the committee will inform the faculty sponsor of the research and the PSY 101 Research Coordinator. The PSY 101 Research Coordinator will activate the study in the SONA System which will allow time slot posting for student participants. Participants and testing cannot be started until approval from the committee.
Proposals are typically approved for a period of one year. If a study is not completed within the approved period, re-approval from the committee is required by submitting the Request for Re-Approval form and accompanying documentation.
Requests for minor changes to previously approved protocols require one paper and one e-mail copy of the Request for Minor Changes form.
If a proposal involves more than minimal risk or involves federal money, the proposal will need to be approved the University of Dayton Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (the IRB.)
Your Responsibilities as a Researcher:
As a researcher you must follow the American Psychological Association's (APA) guidelines for the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, and in particular section eight of that code. The federal government also maintains important rules for research involving human participants or records of their participation (45 CFR 46). These guidelines and laws include but are not limited to the following responsibilities of researchers:
- Do not recruit or test participants until your study has been approved by the committee.
- Get informed consent from all participants or their legal guardians if the participant is less than legal age or unable to give consent. If the participant is less than legal age, consider also gaining assent from the participant.
- Maintain confidentiality and / or anonymity of your participants and the data they provide as specified in the consent form.
- Treat the participants with respect and dignity. Besides being pleasant and professional with the participants, this includes showing up on time.
- Make it clear to each participant that they do not have to participate, can stop participating at any time, and may leave any and/or all questions blank without risk to benefits to which they are otherwise entitled (such as receiving their research credit.)
- Debrief the participants and answer their questions at the end of their participation.
- Immediately report all adverse events that arise in your study to the committee.
- Get approval from the committee for all changes to your study prior to implementing the changes unless such a delay would increase the risk of harm to your participant. In such cases, the committee is to be informed of the changes as soon as possible.
Research Review and Ethics Committee Members:
Greg Elvers, Chair
Roger Reeb
Required Forms:
Research Information Sheet (doc) >>
Re-approval (doc) >>
Important Links: