So, you’ve got this great assistantship working with your favorite rockstar-professor and you are doing research with them. Heck Yes!
So, you decided to write a Master’s thesis and this is your first time working on your own research. Well, that’s pretty awesome!
So, you’ve passed your proposal defense and need to take the next steps, and the very next step is working with the IRB…. Well, I CAN’T WAIT to read about what you’re gonna study!
There are all sorts of reasons (pretty cool ones too) that you may get to work with the IRB office here at NC State and I am pretty excited about it. My name is Jennie. I am a graduate of the Higher Ed Masters program and I have worked as a Student Affairs professional at NC State and at UNC-Chapel Hill. Since then, I have come back to State to get my PhD and am now in the proposal stage in our department (Here’s to persistence! – Think Steve Martin in The Three Amigos, “Gonna make it, Gonna make it, Gonna make it… I digress).
So, you may now be asking yourself “Jennie! You study Ed Research and Policy! How’d ‘you working with the IRB’ happen?” <- That’s a longer story for ya (a good one though). But for now, my simple answer is that through my education in our department, my research agenda and my positions in student affairs, I heavily identify as a social justice educator and practical ethicist. This lead to me advocating for folks who need advocating for.
I tell you all this to let you know, that I get you. I get your experience in the program and I will get your research and what you want to do with it. But also. I tell you this so that I can help you understand how education and practical research ethics align quite nicely.
When I give IRB presentations in class, the very first thing I ask is “What are you researching and WHY are you researching it?” After the typical academic spiel most students are trained to give, I ask “Why is that important?” and then I repeat the question several times, pushing you to get to your ultimate answer of something like “Fundamentally, I care about these people and want them to be able to do this… Or have access to that… or be better prepared for this… but mostly, I care about these people.”
This care, is the foundation of the IRB and should remain the foundation of your research and how you do your research. Everything from your immersion in the literature, to your study design and implementation, should have the target group in mind. And throughout the research process, this group should be treated with the care, respect, and the dignity they deserve. That’s where the IRB and the practical ethics of your research come in.
Over the years, researchers have done some pretty terrible things in the name of science and research participants have been taken advantage of in many ways. As a result, our government puts some checks and balances in place so that all research with human subjects is ethical in practice. We (the IRB) are here to make sure that your research is implemented ethically. We are trained to read through research with an eye focusing on risks/benefits, welfare of participants, and general practicalities of the study implementation. We kinda help you (and your advisor) “dot your i’s” and “cross your t’s” when it comes to implementing your research agenda.
As you think about your study and propose your study design to the IRB, we expect you to think about the implementation of your research. By “we,” I mean me, Jennie. Hi. I am the person who reads your proposal, yes… all of it. All of the pages.
What this means is, instead of thinking about your research from the researcher only lens, we want you to think about your research from the lay-person lens. What are you actually doing? What is actually going to happen? Sure, you are doing a focus group, but you need to implement it and describe that implementation process to us. This means describing:
- How you are getting the participants? (flyers? – we need to see those)
- How do the participants sign up? (via email? – we need to see the scripts of communication)
- Where do participants arrive for the group? (is it private/public – we need that described)
- What are you going to say to them and ask them in the group? (we need to see the protocol)
- What is the consent process like? (we need to see the forms etc.)
- How long will it take? Are there snacks there? Is there compensation?
- Are they doing an activity while there? (if so – we need to see the components of the activity)
You: “But Jennie…. I’ve heard ALL THE THINGS about the IRB.”
Jennie: “I know, sometimes IRBs get a bad rep, but just like you and your research, our IRB is a special snowflake. We are here to help you accomplish your research goals and the best way for you to work with the IRB is to work with the IRB by communicating and advocating”
You: “But Jennie, the application is online and it’s scary.”
Jennie: “Oh, I get this. I am a Gen-Xer through and through and technology is tough. That’s why I have made you an incredibly detailed annotated PDF tutorial about the eIRB application system.”
You: “Well, earlier you said I’m a snowflake, I know I am special and so is my research, so I have a lot of very specific questions.”
Jennie: “You are a snowflake and so is your research, but chances are, you have all of the tools you need to resolve the issues you are having. Why you ask? Because I made you some pretty great educational materials. You can find them here: http://research.ncsu.edu/sparcs/compliance/irb/submission-guidance/. This site has information for you on what to consider throughout your research process so that you know what the IRB is going to ask about.”
You: “JENNIE. I was raised in HEA, of course I have used all my resources and my advisor, I still have a question or I am having some technical difficulties…”
Jennie: “My B! You are right, what was I thinking. Just call me! 919.515.8754 or send me an e-mail at irb-coordinator@ncsu.edu and I can help you navigate your questions. I really love talking about research, especially Ed research, and I love making research stronger (and may even have some cool ideas about yours) so call away!”
Jennie Ofstein is 2007 alumna of the Higher Education Administration master’s program. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis at NC State University. She serves as the IRB Coordinator at NC State and is the Director for Organizational Development and Community Engagement at CrossFit Chapel Hill.