Deck 3: Negotiating the Institutional Review Board Process

Question 1

Research concerning educational practices using observational procedures in an educational setting…

A) is exempt from IRB review if subjects are not identified.
B) Is exempt from IRB review even if subjects can be identified.
C) Is given a full review if the subjects are children.
D) Is given a full review because observational procedures are used.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

When research involves discomfort to subjects that exceeds what is encountered in everyday life, the research is…

A) vetted and discussed by the full IRB committee.
B) expedited by the IRB if the purpose of the research is for societal good.
C) personally presented by the researcher(s) to the full IRB committee for the committee to decide whether to expedite or have a full review.
D) usually exempt from review unless a vulnerable population, such as children, are subjects.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is not a measure that institutions take to ensure that researchers are trained in the protection of human subjects?

A) Providing modules on key ethical principles
B) Requiring that researchers pass a minimum number of quiz questions on training modules
C) Requiring recertification of ethics training every few years
D) Requiring that researchers go through an interview with an ethics specialist

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is true about research that is vetted by the IRB?

A) All research, even those with minimal risk to participants, are fully vetted and discussed by the full IRB committee.
B) Some research is vetted by the full IRB committee, but not others. It depends on the nature of risk that the participant will be exposed to.
C) Research that is for the immediate good of society, such testing new medicine that can potentially save lives, is exempted from being vetted by the full IRB committee.
D) Research with few confidentiality risks, for example, studies that assign numbers to individual participants such that the data are not linked to any identifiable information, are exempted from IRB review.

Question 5

In which section of the IRB application would you be required to state the importance of the research?

A) Abstract
B) Protocol
C) Informed consent
D) Identification of participants

Question 6

Joshua is submitting an IRB application for a study examining the effect of social media use on study habits in college students. His study uses surveys to ask participants to rate how many hours a week they use social media apps, and how many hours a day they devote to studying for college courses. Joshua should expect the IRB to:

A) assign his application to a review by the full committee.
B) exempt his application from review.
C) expedite his application.
D) reject his application.

Question 7

Which is not an action to take that would smoothen the process of getting IRB approval for a proposal?

A) Answer vague questions on the application with vague responses.
B) Talking to the IRB before submitting the application to find out what potential concerns they might have with the proposal.
C) Using the consent form wizard, if provided by the IRB, to generate consent forms.
D) Including all the materials that will be used in the study in the application, such as surveys and assessments, if any.

Question 8

Marianne is submitting an IRB application for a study examining the effect of sleep deprivation on altruistic behavior in college students. Her study involves keeping participants in a sleep laboratory overnight and potentially depriving them of a full night's rest depending on the experimental condition that the participant is assigned to. Marianne should expect the IRB to:

A) assign her application to a review by the full committee.
B) exempt her application from review.
C) expedite her application.
D) reject her application.

Question 9

David wants to recruit full-time working adults older than 35 years of age for his study on sleep and exercise habits. Since he is not recruiting undergraduates from the Introduction to Psychology research pool…

A) he does not need to provide any other information about participant recruitment in his IRB application. As long as he includes an appropriate consent form in his application, the IRB will likely not raise questions.
B) he needs to provide an example of a recruitment flyer or advertisement that he will be using to recruit his participants.
C) he is unable to submit an application through the usual route because he is not using the undergraduate research pool. He will need to talk to the IRB committee to determine his next step.
D) his application will be expedited by the IRB because the risks to adults older than 21 is lower than the risks to college students who are younger.

Question 10

Which of the following research components is not included in the informed consent document?

A) Reasons for why the study was designed.
B) Description of what the participants will be asked to do.
C) Alternatives to participation.
D) Invitation to subjects to participate in research.

Question 11

Which of the following is true about risks in human research?

A) All research has some level of risk for participants.
B) Some types of research, such as those that involve filling up a survey, contain no risk to participants.
C) Risks should always be overstated in the informed consent document to best protect participants.
D) Participants do not need to be informed of risks when a study has only minimal risk.

Question 12

Which of the following is not a reason why the IRB might flag an application for problems?

A) The researcher did not indicate where the study would take place.
B) The researcher did not use specialized jargon to describe the motivation for the study.
C) The researcher did not use the approved template for generating the informed consent document.
D) The researcher did not specify the duration of the study.

Question 13

David is concerned about how long he should keep the consent forms from a completed study. The participants from this study have left the university and taken jobs all over the country. Many do not even remember taking part in the study. His professor tells him to keep the consent forms for at least 7 years. The university policy is for the consent forms to be kept for 6 years after the end of the study. On the other hand, the APA states that he should keep the consent forms for at least 5 years post-publication. David does not think that data from this study is publishable. What is the minimum acceptable duration that he should keep the consent forms for?

A) 5 years
B) 6 years
C) 7 years
D) Indefinitely

Question 14

What does the process of debriefing involve, for research with human subjects?

A) Presenting participants with study information that was initially withheld and explaining why the information was withheld. This process is required for studies that used deception.
B) Presenting participants with study information that was initially withheld and explaining why the information was withheld. This process is optional for studies, regardless of the use of deception.
C) Presenting participants with study information revealing what they should have done during the experiment to be in line with the hypothesized effects. This process is required for studies that used deception.
D) Presenting participants with study information revealing what they should have done during the experiment to be in line with the hypothesized effects. This process is optional for studies, regardless of the use of deception.

Question 15

In a study examining the effects of music on food choice, participants are told to eat as many cookies as they want from a dish, while different genres of music play in the background depending on the condition to which the participant had been assigned. Participants are not told that the music is an important factor in the study. When participants ask the experimenter why there is music playing, the experimenter shrugs and replies that the room always has music piped in. This experiment makes use of:

A) active deception only.
B) passive deception only.
C) active and passive deception.
D) harmless deception.

Question 16

From 1990, the Havasupai gave DNA samples to a geneticist in the hopes that research could inform them about their risk factors or provide treatment options for Type 2 diabetes. Unbeknownst to participants, researchers later used these DNA samples to study diseases such as alcoholism and schizophrenia. What are the ethical implications of the researchers' actions?

A) Informed consent from participants was violated.
B) There were no ethical mistakes because participants were not additionally harmed.
C) Confidentiality of participants was violated.
D) With the additional analyses, there was no longer minimal risk to participants and exposing participants to more than minimal risk was unethical on the part of the researchers.

Question 17

Julie would like to begin research on her honors thesis as soon as possible. What is an action she could take to speed up the process of obtaining IRB approval?

A) Call the IRB or set up a meeting to find out what the potential issues of concern they might have with her study.
B) Exclude materials such as recruitment flyers from her application as these materials cannot be completed in time for IRB application submission.
C) Submit a proposal that is as vague as possible when describing the study procedure.
D) Write her own consent documents, ignoring existing templates that take too much time to fill in.

Question 18

Veema is designing a study to examine the effect of food packaging colors on how much food is consumed. Her friend, Velma, argues that the study will not be approved by the IRB because there are no direct benefits to the study's participants. Which of the following is true?

A) The IRB will likely not approve the study if Veema cannot show direct benefits to participants.
B) The IRB will likely not approve the study if Veema pays her participants because payment is seen as coercion since the study does not have a direct benefit to participants.
C) The IRB will likely not approve the study if Veema uses a study design that exposes participants to more than minimal risk.
D) The IRB will likely not approve the study if Veema does not state the importance of the study for reasons other than benefit to participants.

Question 19

Dennis has secured generous funding for his study. In his IRB application, he states that he plans to pay participants $50 each for completing a short 15 minute survey. What is a potential problem that could be raised by the IRB?

A) Prospective participants could feel coerced to participate due to the monetary compensation.
B) Dennis would be misleading potential participants into thinking that other psychology studies offer as generous monetary compensation.
C) Dennis would be poaching participants from other studies that do not pay as well.
D) It is unethical to pay participants - Dennis should recruit only individuals who are willing to volunteer their time for free.

Question 20

Which of the following is true about research with child participants?

A) There might be circumstances in which the child's assent is not required for research to proceed, such as when the child is too young to provide assent.
B) Parental consent is not needed for the child to participate, unless the child is unable to consent.
C) Parental consent is sufficient for research to proceed with children of all ages.
D) There might be circumstances in which parental consent is not required. For instance, when another adult authority figure is available to provide consent, such as a teacher.

Question 21

What is true about research involving non-human animals?

A) Researchers who work with non-human animals do not have to obtain approval to begin their studies.
B) Non-human animal research is not endorsed by the federal government and thus, researchers conduct this research at their own risk.
C) Studies using non-human animals are reviewed by a committee that is similar to the IRB.
D) Whether a study using non-human animals needs to be reviewed depends on the animal. For example, studies with primates are reviewed, but studies with rats are not.

Question 22

Which of the following is true about keeping records of a study that has obtained IRB approval?

A) It is unnecessary to keep a record of every participant as it is a chore and takes up too many resources.
B) It is necessary to keep a record of every participant, even those who dropped out.
C) It is necessary to keep a record of every individual who has expressed interest in participating in the study.
D) It is unnecessary to keep a record of every participant unless the participant was from a vulnerable population.

Question 23

Rina is investigating the effects of a new type of therapy on depressive symptoms. She would like to administer the Beck Depression Inventory to her participants, who have mild to moderate depression. What is a potential ethical issue with using this survey tool?

A) The Beck Depression Inventory is not validated and thus, unethical to administer.
B) The Beck Depression Inventory contains an item that could trigger suicidality in vulnerable individuals.
C) The Beck Depression Inventory contains items that trigger low mood in most individuals.
D) The Beck Depression Inventory is too long and tedious for some participants to complete.

Question 24

When there is a conflict of interest between a funding source and a researcher, there is an ethical problem because the _____________ of the researcher is compromised.

A) confidentiality
B) objectivity
C) coercion
D) subjectivity

Question 25

While _______________ at the conclusion of the study is required when there has been deception, ___________________ may also be required for more serious forms of deception.

A) debriefing, dehoaxing
B) dehoaxing, debriefing
C) unlearning, debriefing
D) relearning, dehoaxing

Question 26

Federal regulations require researchers to obtain training in the protection of human subjects.

Question 27

Some federal agencies require that individuals who receive grants from it must take a course on ethical research conduct.

Question 28

The abstract of an IRB proposal should aim to provide as detailed a history as possible on the origins of the proposed research.

Question 29

Researchers should strive to design studies that do not contain any risk to participants.

Question 30

It is often better to overestimate than underestimate the number of participants that you will need in your research when applying for IRB approval.

Question 31

Consent forms should contain as much background of the research study as possible and written in as much detail as a literature review.

Question 32

Once participants have consented to provide materials such as blood samples or DNA, researchers are allowed to use these materials in other analyses not specified in the consent document.

Question 33

An advantage of a clearly written IRB proposal is that it ultimately saves the researcher time.

Question 34

The IRB will only approve studies that give a direct benefit to participants.

Question 35

Once a participant has dropped out mid-way from a study, the researcher no longer has to be concerned with saving the consent forms of that participant.

Question 36

Participant coercion might be present even when participants are assured that they would face no adverse consequences by not participating in the study.

Question 37

Prisoners are protected by the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that they are not subjected to unwarranted risks in research.

Question 38

In research with infants, only parental consent is required for participation.

Question 39

Research involving non-human animals does not require a review process to obtain approval to conduct research.

Question 40

Studies with active deception are seldom allowed by the IRB.

Question 41

What research is exempt from review by the IRB?

Question 42

Give a reason for why deception is necessary in some research and state a way in which researchers try to mitigate the ethical issue of deception.

Question 43

List three ways that researchers can protect the confidentiality of participants.

Question 44

What are three strategies to speed up the process of obtaining IRB approval, as recommended by the textbook?

Question 45

A professor would like to recruit participants for a study from her class. What is a method for her to reduce the possibility of participant coercion?