Before I joined the IRB administration team, I thought IRB reviewers were members of a secret society whose sole purpose was to strike down research. Like others before me, I believed my research would be put on the IRB butcher’s block and be chopped into little bits. However, IRB administrators want to see quality research out in the field and will work tirelessly to help guide researchers towards compliance to reach that goal. Read more
Human research rules have become a compliance bureaucracy, argues sociologist Sarah Babb in her 2020 book Regulating Human Research: IRBs from Peer Review to Compliance Bureaucracy, but that's not an inherently bad thing. The social and political climate the first research regulations were made in, and the enforcement mechanisms that would eventually take hold, have rationally led to the large and sophisticated bureaucracy that human research protections is today. Read more
On October 15, 2020, PRIM&R hosted a webinar, IRB Operations During a Pandemic. During this webinar, Jeremy N. Block, PhD, MPP; Dorean J. Flores, BS, MPA, CIP; and Hallie Kassan, MS, CIP discussed critical areas of IRB operations during a pandemic, including office, review, and meeting operations; protocol initiation, modification, termination, etc.; protocol operations, and examples of unethical conduct or scandals during the pandemic. Following the webinar, the speakers reflected on the session and attendee feedback. Read more
PRIM&R is excited to announce the publication of the third edition of Institutional Review Board: Management and Function, the leading textbook on IRB administration. This comprehensive update incorporates the many changes in the research landscape since the previous edition, and represents the work over 180 individuals who share a common goal of advancing ethical research contributed their time and wisdom to creation of this book, comprising 90 chapters and 13 distinct topical sections. Read more
Conducting an Institutional Review Board (IRB) self-assessment may help administrators refine standard operating procedures and streamline communication. It’s an essential part of performance evaluation and provides an opportunity to celebrate achievements, conduct appraisals, and reflect upon past decisions. It also provides a thoughtful written review of established goals, competencies, and overall office performance. Read more
