Society for Medical Anthropology

Academic Resources: Research Tools

• IRB (Instituationl Review Board)

tools and tips

• Do federal guidelines for IRB apply to all research at Universities? Not necessarily so. Be informed. Read about options and decisions that Universities have to make.
• -- List of colleges and universities not voluntarily extending FWAs to all research, Department of Health and Human Services, January 2006 (word doc)
• -- Bledsoe, Caroline H. (2006). "Hope in the IRB mire?  The Federal-Wide Assurance Box 4(b) option"
• -- Shweder, Richard A. (2006). "Protecting Human Subjects and Preserving Academic Freedom: Prospects at the University of Chicago"
• Certificates of Confidentiality Kiosk -- NIH, Office of Extramural Research
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Bioethics Resources
• Notes from The University of Arizona Human Subjects Review Quick Guide (pdf)
• Stanford University's website on Administrative Panels on Human Subjects (IRBs) -- includes required tutorial and human subjects manual

publications

• From the SOLGAN Newsletter:
  - Gray, Mary "Methods unplugged" SOLGAN Summer 2003, Vol 22, No. 1, pp. 1,5
  - Lee, Simon "Methods unplugged: Focus on IRBs continues" SOLGAN Fall 2003, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 1, 2
  - Gray, Mary "Response" SOLGAN Fall 2003, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 2,3
• "Giving Voice to the Spectrum"
  Results of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Special Working Committee Consultation Organized on Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Issues Related to the TCPS (Tri-Council Policy Statement). The report discusses, in depth, the problem of applying terms and procedures derived from biomedical research to research in the social sciences and the humanities.
• "Impact of institutional review board practice variation on observational health services research" Green LA, Lowery JC, Kowalski CP, Wyszewianski L. Health Services Research, 2006 Feb 41(1):214-30.
• IRBs and Anthropological Reseach
  Patricia A. Marshall, Case Western Reserve University, Anthropology News, April 2003
• Ethical Issues in Social and Behavioral Research (pdf) (2002)
  University of Arizona Program in Research Integrity Education Newsletter
• On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research (1995)
  Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institutes of Medicine
• Institutional Review Board Guidebook -- US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)

cases

• Case 14: The Hazardous Consent Forms -- from the Handbook on Ethical Issues in Anthropology, edited by Joan Cassell and Sue-Ellen Jacobs
• Mechanisms of Approval: readings, websites and a case study
  from Ethical Issues in International Health Research at the Harvard School of Public Health
• more cases from Ethical Issues in International Health Research at the Harvard School of Public Health

training

• Reproductive Health Research Ethics Training Curriculum from Family Health International (FHI)
  Human research ethics rest on three basic principles -- respect, beneficence, and justice -- that comprise the foundation of all regulations or guidelines governing research ethics and transcend all geographic, cultural, economic, legal, and political boundaries. FHI developed the Research Ethics Training Curriculum for international scientists who conduct research that includes human participants and who want to incorporate fundamental ethical considerations in the design and implementation of their studies.
• NIH's Computer-Based Training
  The NIH has produced a training program for investigators who would like to enhance their expertise in procedures with human subjects.

centers & organizations

• Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research
  Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) is a non-membership organization founded in 1974 to advance strong research programs within a context of ethical practice.
• The W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics -- The University of British Columbia

government resources

• Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
  Researchers conducting behavioral and social sciences research often have questions about the applicability of their research to the Federal regulations protecting human subjects (research participants). Basic questions arise including even "Am I conducting research that involves human subjects?"
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Certificates of Confidentiality
  Certificates of Confidentiality constitute an important tool to protect the privacy of research study participants. Thus, NIH would like to encourage their appropriate use.
• NIH Required Education in the Protection of Human Research Participants
  Beginning on October 1, 2000, NIH implemented a policy requiring education on the protection of human research participants for all key personnel submitting NIH applications for grants or proposals for contracts or receiving new or non-competing awards for projects involving human research participants
• NIH's Compliance Documents
  Summary of observations and comments from NIH regarding compliance and proactive site visits.
• Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)
  This office in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides guidance to universities as they seek to comply with federal regulations concerning protection of human subjects in research.
• Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP), International Issues
  OHRP provides quality improvement consultation and research ethics training to domestic and foreign institutions involved in international biomedical and behavioral research. These services help ensure that recognized ethical protections are afforded to persons participating in research conducted in countries outside the United States.
• Office of Research Integrity
  ORI monitors institutional investigations of research misconduct and facilitates the responsible conduct of research through educational, preventive, and regulatory activities.
• Protecting Human Subjects -- US Department of Energy
  Their three sites include information particularly emphasizing work with Biomedical, environmental, nuclear, and health-related studies.
• U.S. Department of Education guidelines
  This is a brief overview of principles, regulations, and policies, which affect research involving human subjects in research activities supported by the U.S. Department of Education.