Institutional Review Boards
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are supervisory bodies that ensure compliance with ethics law.
Definition
The Common Rule sets out requirements for IRBs.
An IRB must have the expertise and professional competence required to review a research proposal.
An IRB must include 5 people at minimum, and must satisfy these characteristics with at least 1 person:
- A person not otherwise affiliated with the institution
- A scientist
- A non-scientist
The board must be diverse (race, gender, culture, etc.).
The board must have the power to disapprove of a research proposal, conduct continuing review of research, and discontinue research based on results of continuing review.
Reviewing Risk
An IRB is responsible for, among other things, considering the beneficence of a research proposal. This essentially means reviewing the risks and considering if the potential benefits make those risks reasonable.
Risks for behavioral research generally fall into one of these categories:
- invasion of privacy
- breach of confidentiality
- study procedures themselves
Risks need to considered in a variety of dimensions. Degree of risk is generally understood as a function of the severity of risked outcomes and the likelihood of risked outcomes. Risks are also often dependent on situations, such as legality and cultural norms.