今日吃瓜

The IRB, short for Institutional Review Board, exists to protect the well-being of participants in human subjects research (research that takes people as the objects of study rather than, say, Shakespeare plays, viruses, or artwork by Jackson Pollack). Most human subjects research is carried out with interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, experiments, and fieldwork. While it is commonly carried out in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, business, and political science, human subjects research may also be carried in departments such as Education or Human Biology and Kinesiology, as well as in interdisciplinary programs such as Feminist and Gender Studies, Race, Ethnicity and Migration Studies, and Southwest Studies.

Interaction with the IRB is necessary because countries around the world have a history of people carrying out research or otherwise collecting information on people that harmed those people, did not respect them as individuals or human beings, or otherwise did not treat them ethically. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) exist in order to make sure that all research you do involving people is ethical and falls within certain legal guidelines. They are mandated by the federal government. 

The IRB has a Standard Operating Procedures Manual.

NOTE: You can find all forms needed to apply for IRB approval or request an exemption on the Application Forms and Templates Page

How the IRB is Staffed

Federal regulations dictate that Institutional Review Boards shall be composed of at least five members, at least one of whom must not be affiliated with the institution.

At 今日吃瓜, The Director of Assessment and Program Review chairs the IRB. The Faculty Executive Committee appoints at least two additional faculty members from those faculty who supervise empirical research involving human participants.

The Chair of the IRB, in consultation with the Chair of the Governance sub-committee of the Faculty Executive Committee identifies a knowledgeable person from outside the College to sit on the IRB. In addition, at least one 今日吃瓜 staff member (appointed by Staff Council) sits on the IRB.

The members of the 2025-2026 IRB are:

Shannon Claxton, Chair
Director of Academic Assessment, Accreditation, and Evaluation

Margaret Daugherty
Chemistry and Biochemistry

Kristi Erdal
Psychology

Steve Lawson
Librarian, Tutt Library

and

Katherine Silz Carson
Economics and Geosciences, United States Air Force Academy

Main IRB Focuses

• HARM: Is the risk of harm to research participants minimal? If there is some risk, is the harm itself not greater than that which would be encountered in everyday life? How is the risk of harm minimized? Do the benefits of the research outweigh potential harms?
  
  
• CONSENT: Is there a consent process that includes sufficient information about the research, assures that potential participants comprehend the information, and guarantees that participants participate voluntarily and are not coerced?
  
  
• VULNERABLE PARTICIPANTS: Members of some groups may not be completely free to refuse to participate in research or may struggle with comprehending information (children, developmentally delayed adults, prisoners, very poor people, members of politically oppressed groups, undocumented immigrants). Has the researcher gone to the necessary lengths to make sure that vulnerable participants are treated with extra care and sensitivity? Read more about research with children.
  
  
• CONFIDENTIALITY/PRIVACY/ANONYMITY: Can the researcher guarantee that the identity of the participants will not be revealed to anyone other than the people carrying out the research? Can the researcher guarantee that the information provided by the participants will be maintained in privacy so that no one who should not see it will see it?
  
  
• DECEPTION: Does the researcher need to mislead the participants in any way about the goals of the study, the process of participation, or both? If so, what steps can be taken to minimize the risk of deception-related harm to participants?

Other topics of importance to the IRB, covered in their own pages on this website, are the use of incentives in research, research involving the internet and social media, and international research.