Getting the Go-Ahead

Every wonder what keeps researchers from conducting unethical experiments? The IRB (Institutional Review Board) is a committee that is designated to approve experiments in order to protect the rights and welfare of participants. In order to conduct any experiment, first you must fill out a form that contains details of your planned study to the IRB. It is usually helpful if you can cite articles in research journals. The IRB then meets to debate the pros and cons of the study and whether it protects the participants. Once approved, you will be contacted by the IRB and can continue with your study, however, if rejected you must stop the study. In order to study helping behaviors at Northwest last year, we submitted an experiment to the IRB that was first rejected. We wanted to leave something of value (i.e. cell phone, iPod, or calculator) out on a table and ask the participant (unaware subject of the study) to watch them for our confederate (person involved in the study) as they used the restroom. Another confederate would then have come along and picked up the item of value, in order to see if the participant would say something. It was rejected because the IRB felt that if the participant reacted with rage or anger then they may possibly harm the confederate that was stealing the valuable item. Our team had to modify our study to the dropping of an envelope in order to be approved by the IRB. I am very thankful we have IRBs because without them unethical research could take place that would lead to the discredit of anything scientific that the field could produce.